When
Mary Magdalen came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body,
she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples.
After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had
told them. The text then says: “The disciples went back home,”
and it adds: “but Mary wept and remained standing outside the
tomb.” We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love
she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she
remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while
she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for
him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the
woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him.
For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth
tell us: “Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.”
--
Pope Saint Gregory the Great from
a homily