Dear Friends of Magdala,
Saint Teresa of Jesus says that “in the path towards God, the soul has to pass through four stations.”
It is a great truth.
In the Holy Land we are now in the full bloom of spring. This year it is exceptional! The amount of rain we have received this year has been incredible and surpassed those of years past and hence everywhere one turns there are flowers and breathtaking green landscapes to be seen.
A few days ago, as I was travelling through the Jordan Valley, I was astounded to see the desert blooming. A friend had mentioned it to me a few years back remarking, “The desert is blooming!” and indeed I could see it now. The sight made me remember a quote from Kempis’ Imitation of Christ: “…after winter comes summer, after night the day returns, and after a storm comes great calm.”
It is difficult to be happy when things are going bad, or when they are difficult. One has to learn and know how to wait for better times will arrive.
In Magdala we see this a lot in the lives of many of our visitors. Sometimes they visit us after a difficult period in their lives, but the encounter with Jesus changes this. As Mary Magdalene said after witnessing the Risen Christ, “I have seen the Lord!” When people encounter God in their lives what appeared as a dead and barren desert, begins to take life, green and flourish.
I hope that as this message arrives to you with the beginning of spring, it can help you to contemplate nature and through her trust more in God.
Spring has arrived! Let us give thanks to the Lord. Let us rejoice like Mary Magdalene.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Juan Maria Solana, LC