The following homily was given in the church of Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, also near the church of St. Mary Magdalene.
This location on the Mount of Olives gives us an opportunity to focus on two parts of evangelization. There is the exterior and then there is the interior. As we look out over the city of Jerusalem, we see where the Temple used to be. It was the center of Jewish life. It was the most important building in the world. And it was destroyed… twice. Now there’s a pagan shrine on top of it. the lesson here is that the mission ad extra, to the world, cannot be based on buildings or any other exterior measures. The early church had no buildings. What if all our parishes would suddenly destroyed, like the Temple? What would sustain our faith? How would we evangelize?
The second part of evangelization is interior conversion. Here I turn to my favorite example, St. Mary Magdalene. Mary was passionate. She wasn’t afraid to to show emotion and to upset the weak ideas of what was appropriate or normal. As we are right next door to the church of St. Mary Magdalene, this second half of the homily is a tribute to her. Her passion led her to weep at the feet of Jesus as she anointed him. She wept at his feet on Calvary. And her passion drove her to go weep over his dead body on Easter Sunday. Just as Jesus wept on this spot overlooking Jerusalem, so Mary was not afraid to weep. Are you a weeper? You’re in good company here.