Hearing in these words a compassionate sympathy for her sorrow, Mary replied with a trusting request:

- Lord, if you have carried Him, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him (John 20:15).

How much self-sacrificing love and deepest devotion Mary Magdalene expressed in these brief and simple words! She does not call the supposed gardener Jesus Christ by His name, but only says "Him" She herself revered her Teacher so highly that she believes that others should know Him and be interested in Him. She begs the pretended gardener to reveal to her where the body of Jesus has been taken, since the gardener of this garden must have known the secret of the disappearance of this body from the tomb of Joseph. The abduction could not have happened without his knowledge, because he was entrusted with this garden. And if Joseph himself, the owner of the garden, had moved the body to another place, it could not have been done without the knowledge of the gardener. And Mary Magdalene asks this gardener to indicate the location of the body of Christ so that she can take Him:

"I'll take Him," she says.

With her immeasurable love for the Lord, Mary completely forgets about her weak strength and hopes to take and carry away the body of her Savior herself. Her zeal and love are so great and ardent that she considers herself excessively strong. And not receiving a quick answer to her lively question, Mary Magdalene, as is characteristic of a very anxious person, again turned to the angels, wishing, perhaps, to hear something from them about Jesus, or to find out the reason that prompted them to assume a particularly reverent attitude. The Lord, touched by the height and power of her love, already familiar to Mary in a grace-filled voice, calls her by name:

-Maria! (John 20:16)

Now Mary Magdalene heard that voice of her Saviour, remembered for the rest of her life, by the power of which He cast out a crowd of demons from her, that heavenly voice that penetrated and quickened every soul, that wondrous voice that delighted the souls of His listeners with His heavenly bliss. And Mary now felt the close presence of the Divine Teacher, in Whom all her blessings, all her happiness consisted, and an inexpressible joy filled Mary's whole soul. From the fullness of happiness she could not speak, and, turning again to the Lord, she recognized Him with enlightened eyes, and exclaiming with delight only one word: "Teacher!" (John 20:16) - threw herself at the feet of Christ the Savior

In joyful rapture, Mary Magdalene could not yet imagine and realize all the greatness of the Risen Christ. And therefore the Lord, in order to enlighten her thoughts and teach her about the change through the resurrection of His flesh, meekly said to her:

- Touch Me not[25] (John 20:17), for I have not yet ascended to My Father.

Mary Magdalene enthusiastically expressed her worship of her humanity and that of her Saviour and Teacher, and Christ, by forbidding her to touch her, elevates and sanctifies her thoughts, teaches her more reverent treatment, and makes Mary Magdalene understand that the time for the closest spiritual communion with him will come when He completely hides Himself from the sensual eyes of His disciples and ascends to heaven to God His Father. And since the other disciples of Christ, at the news of His resurrection, could think that now He was forever with them on earth and, perhaps, would realize the people's dreams of a great Jewish earthly kingdom, Christ the Savior sent Mary Magdalene to warn them against such thoughts and dreams. Now assuring the Apostles of the Resurrection of Christ by her clear contemplation of the Risen One and His speech, she is sent by the Lord to announce to them that Christ will no longer be long on earth, that He must soon ascend to God the Father with His most glorified body. But so that the news of this departure would not lead them into confusion and sorrow, the Lord commanded Mary Magdalene to tell His disciples that His Father, to Whom He ascended, was also their Father, mercifully calling them His brethren:

- Go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God [26] (John 20:17)

Having said this, Christ became invisible. And the joyful, happy Mary Magdalene goes and announces (John 20:18) all that has happened to her to the Apostles of Christ, and with delight consoles their sorrow with wondrous words:

- Christ is risen!

That is why, as the first herald of Christ's Resurrection, sent from the Lord Himself, Mary Magdalene is recognized by the Christian Church as "Equal-to-the-Apostles."