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sage, suddenly a bright flash of light, outshining the morning sun, showed them Jesus Himself, all glori ous and triumphant, standing before them on the road. "And behold Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But they came up, and took hold of His feet and adored Him." He repeated the message of the angels with the addition of giving His disciples a rendezvous in Galilee. "Then Jesus said to them: Fear not. Go, tell My brethren that they go into Galilee, there they shall see Me." And so He vanished quickly away.

The Evangelist then makes a statement in general terms of the different announcements of all the women to the Apostles: "And going back from the sepulchre, they told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. And it was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary of James, and the other women that were with them, who told these things to the Apostles." Peter and John, as we have seen, were already fully persuaded of the resurrection; as to the other nine, "these words seemed to them as idle tales: and they did not believe them."

Thus the sacred narrative tells of Jesus' second apparition, and it is to the holy women, as His first recorded appearance is to Magdalene. Why did Jesus, we may reverently ask, thus favor the female members of His discipleship? We answer that it may have been to reward and thereby to dignify the divine virtue of faith, "the root and foundation of all righteousness." For this virtue has always been a characteristic trait of the female sex among Christians, standing guard in their persons over the treasure of truth in the family, in the school-room, and, particularly in recent times, extending its direct, vigor ous, and enlightening influence far into the whole region of human society.

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The sacred chronicle takes final leave of the tomb, the garden, the soldiers, and the conspirators in telling of the frantic expedient of the chief priests to account for the resurrection. They affirm to Pilate that the body has been stolen by the disciples, and they would prove it by the testimony of men who confess that they were asleep when it happened! It would seem that some of the soldiers, after recovering from their panic, lay concealed near the sepulchre, and when all the events of the morning were over reported what had taken place, doing so to the chief priests, to whom Pilate had given them as a guard. "Who when they were departed, behold some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all things that had been done. And they being assembled together with the ancients, taking counsel, gave a great sum of money to the soldiers, saying: Say you, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away when we were asleep. And if the governor shall hear of this, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they taking the money, did as they were taught: and this word was spread abroad among the Jews even unto this day."

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CHAPTER IV.

JESUS APPEARS TO PETER; AND TO TWO DISCIPLES

ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS.

Mark xvi. 12, 13; Luke xxiv. 13-35; I. Cor. xv. 5-7.

ETER and John came to the sepulchre of Jesus together, as they had been together when He prayed in the garden of olives, when Peter denied Him, when He was transfigured, and when He raised the daughter of Jairus to life. But Jesus appeared separately to Peter that day, just where and at what precise hour we know not, as the revelation of this event is but the brief word of St. Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, "He was seen by Cephas," and the announcement of the Apostles to the disciples coming from Emmäus, "The Lord hath risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon." This makes it certain that the apparition to Peter preceded that to Cleophas and his companion, for they got the news of it from the eleven (Peter himself being therefore present) in exchange for the narrative of their adventure with the Saviour on the road to Emmäus.

It was a touching act of love on the part of Jesus thus to honor Peter. As the penitent woman was the first in all His fellowship to receive His greeting, so among His chosen ones, His Apostles, the penitent Peter, who had been so weak and so guilty in the hour of trial but had wept so bitterly in his penitence, was chosen out of all the Apostles to first behold the Risen Lord. We may not doubt that our Saviour's purpose in this was not only to honor the primacy but also to assure Peter of perfect forgive

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Emmäus is identified by an immemorial Christian

And behold, two of them went the same day to a town which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, themselves, Jesus himself also drawing that while they talked and reasoned with near went with them. But their eyes were held that they should not know him. And he said to them: What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answer

tradition with a village some seven or eight miles west of Jerusalem. Doubtless it was one of the places of refuge and rendezvous agreed upon by the disciples of the Lord during their terror at His death, being all the safer because so insig-ing, said to him: Art thou only a stranger nificant in size. But the vision of Jesus to two of His disciples on the road between Emmäus and the city has given this little hamlet a holy celebrity.

St. Luke's account of this most instructive episode is very full, but St. Mark mentions it: "After that He appeared in another shape to two of them, as they were going into the country."

in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days? To whom he said: What things? reth, who was a prophet mighty in work And they said: Concerning Jesus of Nazaand word, before God and all the people. And how our chief priests and princes delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we hoped that it was he that should have redeemed Israel: and now besides all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company affrighted us, who before it was light were at the sepulchre. And not finding his body, came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that he is alive. And some of our people went to the

had said, but him they found not. Then he said to them: O foolish, and slow of

The account of our Saviour's join- sepulchre and found it so as the women ing with the two disciples as they journeyed sadly on, His introducing Himself as a wayfarer like themselves, and the conversation and incidents which followed, ending with the revelation of His identity, is one of the most beautiful narratives in all revelation, bringing out His patience with His simple followers as well as their own crude notions about His mission. He found their disappointment at His failure and their horror at His death to be overwhelming. “We hoped," they com"that it was He who should plained, have redeemed Israel." Nor had the reports brought by the holy

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heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things that were concerning him. And they drew nigh to the town whither they were going: and he made as though he would go farther. But they constrained him, saying: Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them. And it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread, and blessed and brake, and gave to them And their eyes were opened, and they knew him and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to the other : Was not our heart burning within us, whilst he spoke in the way, and opened to us the scriptures? And rising up the same hour they went back to Jerusalem : and they found the eleven gathered together, and those that were with them, saying: The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way: and how they knew him in the breaking of bread.

"He made as though He would go farther."

women of the disappearance of the Saviour's body, nor their "vision of angels," nor even the reports of Peter and John, been able to console them; they were but the more amazed and affrighted. Yet faith was not entirely dead in them-"He was a prophet mighty in work and word," but still the chief priests had delivered Him to crucifixion, His cause was lost and their hearts were sunk in despair.

Jesus soon made those slow and foolSish hearts burn with hope and love as He explained the Scriptures, beginning with Moses and going through the prophets, proving to them that the Redeemer was destined to be slain for His people and then to rise from the dead. This absorbing conversation gradually instilled into their souls a realization of the Resurrection, and was continued till they had constrained Jesus to share their evening meal. As this ended the Saviour disclosed His glory to them. He did so in the act of breaking the Bread of the Eucharist to them, as many consider this to mean. But the very moment they knew Him and adored Him He vanished out of their sight. When the two disciples found themselves suddenly

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