Women Witnesses

Today's Gospel takes us to the empty tomb on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene comes "very early in the morning, while it was still dark" and discovers that the stone has been rolled away. She runs to the disciples, and Peter and the beloved disciple hurry to the tomb.

Let us pause today at the figure of Mary Magdalene, whom St. Thomas Aquinas calls the "apostle of the apostles." This is an extremely significant term, because it indicates the special role that God has entrusted to women in the history of salvation. It was Mary Magdalene who was chosen as the first to see the empty tomb and later the Risen Christ Himself. It was she who received the mission to bring the news of the resurrection to the apostles, thus becoming the first herald of the Paschal mystery.

In the history of the Church we encounter many women who, like Mary Magdalene, became "apostles" - witnesses of Christ in their times and environments. One of them is St. Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962), whom St. John Paul II canonized in 2004. This Italian doctor, wife and mother, became a contemporary witness to the Gospel of life and love.

Like Mary Magdalene, St. Joan was distinguished by a deep love for Christ that permeated every aspect of her life, both professional and family. While working as a doctor, she saw Christ himself in every patient, and she treated her ministry as a mission. As a wife and mother, she fulfilled her vocation in her daily, sacrificial love for her husband and children.

The most heroic dimension of her sanctity was revealed when, during her fourth pregnancy, she discovered that she had a uterine fibroma. Despite being aware of the dangers, she decided to continue the pregnancy and give birth to the child, even at the cost of her own life. She said then: "If you have to choose between me and the child, do not hesitate - choose the child. I ask you to do so." After giving birth to her daughter Gianna Emanuela, the saint died of postpartum complications, at the age of only 39.

St. Joan, like Mary Magdalene, is an “apostle of life” – a witness to unconditional love, ready to give her life for those she loves. In the life of St. Joan Beretta Molla we see an echo of Christ’s words: “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Her witness reminds us that faith in the resurrection is not an abstract idea, but a reality that gives meaning to even the greatest sacrifice.

Knowing that life does not end on earth, St. Joan could courageously make a decision that cost her her earthly life but opened the way to eternal life.

Mary Magdalene and St. Joan Beretta Molla, although they lived in distant eras, are connected by the same Paschal logic – the logic of the grain that dies in order to bear fruit. Both became "apostles" – witnesses of the risen Christ, proclaiming to the world that love is stronger than death.

Dear brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the mystery of the resurrection, we are invited to follow in the footsteps of these holy women. Like Mary Magdalene, we are called to seek Christ even when the darkness of doubt and despair surrounds us. Like St. Joan, we are called to bear witness to the Gospel of life through daily choices of love and service.

On Easter morning, standing before the empty tomb, let us ask the Risen Lord that we too may be His authentic witnesses – "apostles" bringing to the world the news of the victory of life over death, love over hatred, hope over despair.

May faith in the Resurrection transform our lives every day, may it be the foundation of our hope and the source of our joy. Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Alleluia!