This week, we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene on July 22. She’s known as the “apostle to the apostles” because she was the first person to whom Christ appeared in the Gospels, and He sent her to the apostles with the news of the resurrection.

Besides telling us about her mission, the readings for her feast day give us two important themes for reflection.

The first comes from the Song of Songs: “I sought him whom my heart loves.” In the context of the feast day, this is basically the song of Mary Magdalene at the tomb, looking for Christ. The question for reflection is: Does this same attitude characterize our daily life?

When we wake up in the morning, are we looking for Christ or something else? When we watch or read the news, are we looking for Christ or something else? When we want to relax at the end of a busy day, are we looking for Christ or something else? What would our days look like if we had more of the spirit of Mary Magdalene guiding us?

The second theme comes from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians: “the love of Christ impels us.” In the context of the feast day, this gives us a twofold window into Mary Magdalene. The love of Christ impelled her to visit the tomb and also to bring the good news to the apostles. The question for reflection is: Does the love of Christ impel our daily life, too, in both of those directions? Does the love of Christ impel us to church — to Mass, to adoration — to seek the Risen Christ? And then does the love of Christ impel us forth from the church to share the Good News with our neighbors: “I have seen the Lord!”?

One aspect of the good news that the world needs to hear from us today is the reality of the spiritual world. St. Ambrose said: “Do not believe only what the eyes of your body tell you.” Many people today believe only in the reality of the physical world, the economic world, the military world and the political world. All those things are real and important. They’re also transitory. The spiritual world is not only real, it’s more important because it’s eternal! But it’s also more subtle, so we need to pay deeper attention to notice it.

This week we hear the account of Moses meeting God at the burning bush. The burning bush is not only an event, it’s also a pattern for the spiritual life. God conveys spiritual realities to us through visible signs. God, who made us, knows that we need sensible signs to lead us to spiritual realities. So that’s what we see all through salvation history, from the burning bush to the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the doorpost to the Body and Blood of Christ present to us under the form of bread and wine.

Like Mary Magdalene, we can be people who “seek him whom my heart loves” in the midst of the visible world. And, like Mary Magdalene, we can be people who are impelled by the love of Christ to go forth and tell others: In and through these visible signs, I have seen the invisible Lord!