The Dead Christ by Mantegna (click on image for larger, more detailed version)
On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, meditating on His suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a spirit of joy that overflows into the following period of fifty days.
The first two days of the Triduum I have been thinking a lot about Mary Magdalen. I never have before. Always Jesus has been almost my sole focus, but I also have thought about Mary, John, Peter, Judas, Simon of Cyrene, Joseph of Arimethea, and others in the Passion narrative. This year Mary Magdalen keeps coming forward. She was at the foot of the cross. She was the first to see the Risen Lord. She was one of his most devoted followers. How devastated she must have been to lose someone she loved so much. Is there any artwork or poetry that focuses on Mary Magdalen during Christ's Passion and then Resurrection?
ReplyDeleteMary Magdalene is in my Easter post and will appear here a few more times during the Octave of Easter.
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