Today is the Feast of Mary Magdalene.
My most favorite woman in the Gospel.

The woman who loved most,
wept most and suffered most with love.

The woman who became sinner by loving most,
and who was forgiven by loving most.

When I was young,
I thought she was a woman of sin
not knowing her soul.

But now I feel her depth of love
with the age and the ailments I have.

I regret that I didn’t think of her name
when I was given a chance
to choose my baptismal name.

I was baptized
only because I wanted to believe
the Great Being.

When I was young,
I thought a lot but found little,
not knowing that I was in the hands of God.

Now with the age and ailments,
With awe, I feel that I am in His loving hands.

Praise and gratitude to God
on the Feast of Mary Magdalene!
(July 22, 2021)

Teruko Yamakawa (translator)