To Be Called, To Listen, To Obey

So many are drawn to the South of France through the presence of Mary Magdalene, through the sacred atmosphere of the land, and through a longing that can be felt deeply, even wordlessly. Yet to be drawn is not yet the whole path. To receive a call is one thing. To truly listen is another. And to obey what is heard is deeper still.

I have been feeling more and more that the true mystery of Mary Magdalene is not only that she came to France, but that she had already been found, so wholly and irrevocably, in Jesus Christ. Her life was not shaped by sacred geography alone, but by sacred response. She listened. She followed. She belonged.

This transmission will contemplate that deeper movement in our own lives. What does it mean to receive a call in truth? What does it mean to listen beyond fascination, beyond romance, beyond the outer forms of pilgrimage? And what kind of grace is needed to obey what is heard, to let oneself be reoriented, claimed, and carried by Christ? If you feel called by Mary Magdalene, she was called by Christ.

Especially this month, this feels very close to my own heart. For there are seasons when we cannot navigate by the old coordinates, and are asked instead to live by prayer, by listening, and by the quiet courage of response. And perhaps this is where all true pilgrimage leads: not only to a place, but to a deeper belonging.