“Woman, why are you weeping?”: Mary and the Paschal joy that arises from tears

“Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?”

A Marian meditation for Easter Tuesday

Image: Mary, paschal joy: Mary Magdalene recognizes the Risen One at the tomb (Jn 20,16)The paschal joy of Mary, derived from her tears, is the central theme of the liturgy for this Easter Tuesday. The focus is on a significant encounter in Christian tradition: the appearance of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene near the empty tomb (Jn 20,11-18).The question of Jesus, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” (Jn 20,15) is not merely a historical interaction but an eternal invitation to the Church and to each person who, amid tears, seeks the Living One among the dead. Pascal mariology finds in the Johannine passage a deep echo of Mary’s mission, the paschal joy: the Mother who kept everything in her heart (Lk 2,19.51) is also the Mother who teaches her children to recognize the voice of the Son as the life that no stone can contain.

I. Mary, paschal joy: the metania of Acts 2,36-41

The liturgy begins with Peter’s discourse at Pentecost: “Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2,36). The metania asked by Peter as a response to the kerygma is the first paschal fruit. Mary of Nazareth was present in the upper room when those words echoed (Acts 1,14).The Encyclical Redemptoris Mater states that Mary “by believing, preceded the disciples in faith” (RM 26). She was the first to recognize in the Crucified One the Lord and the Christ.The *Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy* reminds us that “Mary is the figure of the Church which continually gives birth to the children of God” (n. 9). The Church “learns from Mary to be a mother” (Redemptoris Mater 43). The paschal metanoia is, at its deepest root, a fruit of Mary’s paschal joy, the joy she conveys to all who turn tears into faith.

II. The Gospel: John 20:11-18 and the Pedagogy of Paschal Mourning

John depicts a scene of absolute mourning: Mary Magdalene “was standing outside by the tomb, weeping” (John 20:11). It is precisely when she turns around, “looked back” (v. 14), that she sees the Risen One. This physical conversion is the figure of the spiritual conversion that Paschals operates: one does not find the Living looking at the tomb.Ruperto of Deutz (d. 1130) identified Mary Magdalene as the type of Church-bride who mourns her Spouse. Mary Magdalene “goes to announce” (John 20:18) because she herself was evangelized by the Risen One. This is fundamental mariology: receive before you give. It is Mary’s paschal joy: receive the paschal joy from Mary so that you can announce it.

III. Noli me tangere: The New Presence and Faith That Does Not Enslave

The command of the Risen One, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17), has been meditated by tradition as the densest affirmation about the nature of paschal faith. “Noli me tangere” is not a rejection but a pedagogy. Mary Magdalene recognizes Jesus when he calls her by name: “Mary” (John 20:16), just like the Good Shepherd does (John 10:3). Mary of Nazareth, who heard the angel’s name “Mary” from his mouth (Luke 1:28), is the model for one who responds to a voice before seeing a face.

IV. Mary Magdalene, *Apostola Apostolorum*, and Mary’s Maternity

The mission entrusted to Mary Magdalene: “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father'” (John 20:17). Tradition has honored her with the title of *apostola apostolorum*. But this title presupposes the uniqueness of Mary of Nazareth: if Mary Magdalene can announce the Resurrection, it is because the One who rose was born of a Woman who said “yes” before any apostle. The *Redemptoris Mater* affirms that “the Virgin Mary is present in the Church as Mother of the Lord and continues to intercede for her children” (RM 40).

The Resurrection and Mary of Magdalene: A Marian Perspective

The question of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene, «Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?» is interpreted within Mariology as an invitation to transform grief into Easter joy. The address “Woman” echoes John 19:26, where Christ speaks these same words to his Mother at the Cross, establishing a type: the “woman” who wept by the Cross is the same one called to witness the Resurrection. Easter joy arises from tears—this is the spiritual path Mary teaches the Church.

“Noli me tangere”: A Call to Faith in Marian Spirituality

«Do not touch me» (John 20:17) is understood by patristic and Mariological tradition as an invitation to a new form of presence and faith. Rupertus of Deutz saw in Mary Magdalene a figure of the Church still seeking Christ in the physical mode preceding the Resurrection. Mariology interprets this as a teaching: Mary, the Mother, was the first to live this faith without attachment to sensory presence, keeping the Word in her heart. Mature faith does not cling, but sends: “Go and announce!”

“Apostola Apostolorum”: Mary Magdalene’s Role in Mariology

The title “apostola apostolorum” (apostle of the apostles), given to Mary Magdalene by the Church Fathers, emphasizes that she was the first to announce the Resurrection to the twelve (John 20:18). Mariological thought distinguishes between two Marys: Mary Mother, who maintained her faith during Holy Saturday without seeing the empty tomb, and Mary Magdalene, who received the mission to announce. Together, they represent the two poles of the Church’s vocation: faithful contemplation and prophetic mission.

Deepen Your Studies

Explore Mariology, Theological Marian Studies, Marian Apparitions, and the Graduate Program in Mariology.Maria, Easter Joy: Mary invites us to learn from Mary Magdalene how to transform grief into announcement. The garden of the tomb is the garden of new creation: there where sorrow turns into the spoken name. And that name that changes everything is always the same: “Mary”. As Pope John Paul II reminded us in *Redemptoris Mater* (n. 20), Mary is the first to receive Easter joy. See also: *The Heart on Fire, Mary at Emmaus*: Recognizing the Risen Lord and *Pax Vobis, Maria*: Paschal Peace.Prof. Daniel Afonso, Rome, Tuesday of Easter, April 7, 2026