PART VI

The Triumph of Jesus Christ - His Mysterious and Mira ulous Life in His Church

CHAPTER I

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. HE APPEARS TO HIS MOTHER MARY, TO MARY MAGDALEN,

AND TO THE OTHER DEVOUT WOMEN

Matt. xxviii. 1-15; Mark xvi. 1-11; Luke xxiv. 1-12; John xx. 1-18

1. CHRIST RISES FROM THE TOMB AND APPEARS TO HIS BLESSED MOTHER

THE Soul of the crucified Saviour having, from the time it left His body, remained in limbo, among the souls of the first fathers of the human race, returned soon after midnight of the Sabbath to its sanctified body yet resting in the tomb. The interpreters of Scripture tell us that Christ brought with Him the souls of these holy persons to witness the resurrection of His sacred body. We can well imagine that these holy spirits, at last released from prison, and hastening on in company of Christ, and with myriads of angels, to witness this grand mystery, formed a glorious, happy procession. With just reason might this enraptured company, as they floated through the air on their way to Calvary, fill all the realms of space with their joyful chanting of the one hundred and thirteenth psalm of David: "Alleluia! When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea saw and fled; Jordan was turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou didst flee? and thou, O Jordan, that thou wast turned back? ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams and ye hills, like lambs of the flock? At the presence

of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hills into fountains of waters. Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to Thy name give glory. For Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake; lest the Gentiles should say: Where is their God? But our God is in heaven; He hath done all things whatsoever He would. The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. They have mouths and speak not; they have eyes and see not; they have ears and hear not; they have noses and smell not; they have hands and feel not; they have feet and walk not; neither shall they cry out through their throat. Let them that make them become like unto them, and all such as trust in them. The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord; He is their helper and their protector. The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord; He is their helper and their protector. They that fear the Lord have hoped in the Lord; He is their helper and their protector. The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us. He hath blessed the house of Israel; He hath blessed the house of Aaron; He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great. May the Lord add blessings upon you; upon you, and upon your children. Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The heaven of heaven is the Lord's; but the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead shall not praise Thee, O Lord; nor any of them that go down to hell. But we that live bless the Lord, from this time now and forever. Alleluia!"

The angels, too, who were in the train of these redeemed spirits of antiquity, took up their strain of joy and sang with sympathizing gladness: "Alleluia! Let us rejoice and be glad, for the day of salvation is dawning. Alleluia! To-day shall be made manifest to all men the salvation, the glory, the power and the kingdom of our God and of His Son Jesus Christ. Alleluia! The lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and benediction for ever and ever. Alleluia!"

When the mysterious procession of spirits reached Calvary, that dismal, dreary, blood-stained mount was suddenly illuminated with a dazzling brilliancy which made the lonely night brighter than the noon-day sun. Along the route which Jesus had trod, from Jerusalem to the scene of His death, angels now passed, silently and reverently gathering up each drop

of blood that stained the privileged ground, and leaving not a scattered hair nor the smallest shred of His sacred flesh, brought them to Calvary. And now, the souls of the just, once more led by the soul of Jesus Christ, and accompanied by the angels, wing their way to the sealed sepulcher, in order to see and adore the sacred body which had been lacerated, disfigured, tortured and deprived of life on account of sin. How fervently they must have worshipped these precious remains by which the redemption of the human race had been successfully effected! How deeply they must have sympathized in the sufferings of their own Deliverer! And now, the divine-human soul of Jesus Christ bends down to embrace the blessed body; they become once more united, and behold! the pallid and disfigured corpse lights up, glows with radiant life, is suffused with a flood of glory, and rises triumphant and transfigured, forevermore immortal and impassible!

At once Jesus left the narrow confines of the sepulcher and hastened away to relieve and comfort His anxious and afflicted mother.

Although the holy evangelists do not tell us in their books, in which "are not written many things that Jesus did," that He appeared to His beloved mother, yet reason would teach us, and the devout and learned doctors of the Church inform us, and revelations from heaven to devout souls on earth assure us, that Jesus Christ's first visit, after His triumph over sin and death, was to the Blessed Virgin Mary. An old tradition has it, that the sorrowing Mother of Jesus, having passed the whole of Easter night in meditation and prayer, was in a state of tranquil expectation of the resurrection of her divine Son, when suddenly the archangel Gabriel, attended by legions of heavenly spirits, stood before her, and repeated the old familiar salutation: "Ave Maria!" "Hail Mary!" He then added, "Regina cœli lætare!" "Queen of heaven, rejoice! for He whom thou didst deserve to bear is risen from the dead. Alleluia!" Hardly were these glad tidings delivered, when the virgin's humble apartment faded into apparently unbounded space, a flood of brilliant light poured in, and her own beloved Son Himself, glorious and immortal, surrounded by myriads of angels, and followed by the lately

'The time-honored practice in Rome of celebrating the Holy Mysteries on Easter morning, in the church of the Blessed Virgin (as designated in our missals to this day), indicates the ancient belief that Christ made His first appearance, after His resurrection, to His Blessed Mother.

released souls of the just of the Old Testament, appeared before her, and in gladsome accents thus addressed her: "Rejoice and be comforted, Mother of Sorrows! thy Son, thy Lord, returns to thee in triumph and honor. Alleluia!" After appearing to His Blessed Mother, the glorified Jesus departed to make known His resurrection to the penitent Magdalen, the other devout women, and His apostles, and to bring them consolation and encouragement.

2. THE DEVOUT WOMEN GO TO THE SEPULCHER AND FIND THE STONE ROLLED AWAY

"In the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,' came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, who had brought sweet spices, that coming to see the tomb, they might anoint the body of Jesus. And very early in the morning they set out, it being yet dark; and they come to the monument, the sun being now risen, bringing the perfumes that they had prepared. And they said one to another, who shall roll us back the stone from the door of the monument? When, behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone and sat upon it. And the countenance of the angel was as lightning, and his vesture white as snow. And for fear of him the guards were struck with terror, and became as if they had been dead. In the meantime the women approached, and looking, saw the stone rolled back, for it was very great; and entering into the sepulcher they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. Mary Magdalen ran, therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple," John, "whom Jesus loved, and saith to them: They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him."

Truly it was a genuine, constant and heroic love that these devoted women entertained for Jesus. It was a pure and intense love, living all through the unparalleled degradation and death of its object, and penetrating into His very grave. No longer able to give proof of their love to the living, these women must make His lifeless corpse the object of their tender solicitude. For this fact we refer to the account given us by the holy evangelists.

'Namely, the morning of our Easter Sunday.

3. THE ANGEL INFORMS THEM THAT JESUS IS RISEN "And going into the sepulcher, they1 found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass as they were astonished in their mind at this, behold two men stood by them in white, shining apparel. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their countenance toward the ground, the young man sitting on the right side said to the women: Be not afraid, for I know whom you seek, Jesus who was crucified. But why seek you the living with the dead? He is not here, but is arisen, as He said. Remember how He spoke unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid; and going quickly tell His disciples, and especially Peter, that He is risen; and behold He goeth before you into Galilee. There you shall see Him as He told you: 'Behold, I have foretold it to you.' And they called to mind His words. And they went quickly out of the monument with fear and great joy, running to tell His eleven disciples and the rest, and they said nothing to any man in the way, for they were afraid."

If it appears strange for Christ to make known His resurrection to women, even before revealing it to His apostles, and even to appear first to them, let us remember that these devoted women had merited this preference by their fervent and heroic charity. It required unusual courage and devotion on the part of a gentle and timid woman to tarry alone before a vacant and gaping sepulcher, or indeed to be abroad at daybreak in a large city, when the times were very exciting and the place crowded with strangers who had been brought together from all quarters on the occasion of the Passover. And moreover, these same Jews, who with wild rage demanded the crucifixion of the divine Master, would not spare any one whom they might suspect of being His friend. But these considerations were not able to restrain the open manifestation by these devout women of their undying love for their Saviour. While the apostles, themselves in gloomy fear and sad despondency, were shut up in an obscure room, these women were at the grave of Jesus, resolved, if no longer able to salute their living Saviour, at least to show their respect to His lifeless remains.

'The devout women, except Magdalen, who had hastened off to Peter and John.