March 31, 2013

The Resurrection of the Lord
The Mass of Easter Sunday

Reading 1 Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said:
“You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 Col 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, 
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

or 1 Cor 5:6b-8

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, 
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, 
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, 
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Gospel Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark, 
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter 
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, 
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, 
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter 
and arrived at the tomb first; 
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him, 
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 
and the cloth that had covered his head, 
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in, 
the one who had arrived at the tomb first, 
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture 
that he had to rise from the dead.

Or Lk 24:1-12

At daybreak on the first day of the week 
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus 
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. 
They said to them,
“Why do you seek the living one among the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, 
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners
and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”
And they remembered his words.
Then they returned from the tomb
and announced all these things to the eleven
and to all the others.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;
the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
but their story seemed like nonsense
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, 
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;
then he went home amazed at what had happened.

Or Lk 24:13-35

At an afternoon or evening Mass

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

Arlington Catholic Herald

GOSPEL COMMENTARY JN 20:1-9

We are not ashamed of the cross

Fr. Jerry J Pokorsky

After 40 days of preparation — penance, fasting and the countless confessions, many good folks who have made their way back to the church after a long interlude — we celebrate the risen Christ. The sanctuary, no longer barren, is filled with the festive color of flowers in full bloom. He is risen. But remaining always prominent in the sanctuary is that cross — uncovered, a permanent fixture. There is an eternal freshness in the wounds of Christ.

Although He is risen, the way of the cross remains the only path to the Resurrection. We are not ashamed of the cross. The cross and the Resurrection are inseparable.

Too often we think the Passion of Christ is finished. Several years ago, a major Christian denomination removed the cross from an Easter evangelization campaign. A clergyman bizarrely explained that the cross had “too much cultural baggage” associated with it. So the cross was replaced with an exclamation. A simple word, “Surprise” followed by a joyous exclamation point. But without the cross there can be no Resurrection.

In the Book of Revelation we read the words of St. John: “Then I saw standing in the very middle of the throne, a lamb with the marks of slaughter on it.” In heaven everyone sees the marks of slaughter on the glorified body of Christ. St. John uses another word for "lamb" in Revelation. The word he uses means “pet lamb”; one belonging to the family. Christ came among us as our own. And we are not ashamed of His wounds, wounds we have inflicted upon Him. Because He is risen.

What consolation can we give to someone dying of cancer? To a bereaving widow? To the victim of war? What is the answer to the problem of evil? Of man's inhumanity to man? Of suffering? There is no answer we can grasp by reason. The Book of Job comes close. Satan is sometimes the cause of the ills of so many good people. But God protects Job where it really counts: You may touch the body of Job, He instructs Satan, but not his soul. And so it happens that Job loses his crops, his children and suffers bodily afflictions.

Satan has several unwitting accomplices in his temptations. Satan wants Job's body and soul. Mrs. Job demands that her husband “Curse God and die.” The friends of Job give every possible explanation, except the right one. And Job cries out to God, “Why was I born? Why did I ever see the light of day?” God does not answer the questions; He responds with His own questions: “Where were you at the foundation of the world? Where were you when I created the heavens and the earth?” And Job understood that the questions of God were more satisfying than the answers of men; the human mind cannot apprehend the mystery of suffering.

There would be no answer to the problem of evil until the good Lord Himself would come down from heaven. The Lord Himself would answer our questions: Lord, do you know anything about pain? About the accident wards of hospitals? About prisons? The gulag? The concentration camps? We are compelled to ask, Lord, just what do you know about human suffering?

The risen Lord who still carries the wounds of the cross on His glorified body is sinless. Yet He took on the responsibility of all the sins of man. In Gethsemane He was fully conscious of the horror of those sins. He died a thousand times over in that Garden, anticipating the suffering of the crucifixion. Still He died in unspeakable agony. Jesus on the cross, the innocent lamb, looked into the past. The sin of Adam was there. So was the sin of Cain; the abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah; the persistent sins of infidelity on the part of the chosen people. And they were all dragged to the cross in the consciousness of Christ.

But Christ also looked into the future. He saw the sins of the 20th century: the concentration camps, the wars, the slaughter of unborn babies. He saw our sins, He saw the crimes we commit in our hearts. And for these sins He also suffered. But these are the sins He also has overcome through His mighty resurrection. We are not ashamed of the cross: We do not — even in this Easter season — cover up His wounds.

His wounds can be found throughout the world — wherever man suffers; wherever man dies. But we are not ashamed of the cross; we will never be ashamed of the cross. They can kill the body, but if we remain always in the risen Christ, they cannot kill the soul. For He is risen. He has overcome sin. He has overcome suffering. He has overcome death. Now and for all time.

Fr. Pokorsky is pastor of St. Michael Church in Annandale.

1. The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulcher, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher.
2. Then she runs, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and says to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.
3. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher.
4. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher.
5. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying: yet went he not in.
6. Then comes Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeing the linen clothes lie,
7. And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself:
8. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed.
9. For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

CHRYS. The Sabbath being now over, during which it was unlawful to be there, Mary Magdalene could rest no longer, but came very early in the morning, to seek consolation at the grave: The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulcher.

AUG. Mary Magdalene, undoubtedly the most fervent in love, of all the women that ministered to our Lord; so that John deservedly mentions her only, and says nothing of the others who were with her, as we know from the other Evangelists.

AUG. Una sabbati is the day which Christians call the Lord's day, after our Lord's resurrection. Matthew calls it prima sabbati.

BEDE. Una sabbati, i.e. one day after the sabbath.

THEOPHYL. Or thus: The Jews called the days of the week sabbath, and the first day, one of the sabbaths, which day is a type of the life to come; for that life will be one day not cut short by any night, since God is the sun there, a sun which never sets. On this day then our Lord rose again, with an incorruptible body, even as we in the life to come shall put on incorruption.

AUG. What Mark says, Very early in the morning, at the rising of the sun, does not contradict John's words, when it was yet dark. At the dawn of day, there are yet remains of darkness, which disappear as the light breaks in. We must not understand Mark's words, Very early in the morning, at the rising of the sun, to mean that the sun was above the horizon, but rather what we ourselves ordinarily mean by the phrase, when we want any thing to be done very early, we say at the rising of the sun, i.e. some time before the sun is risen.

GREG. It is well said, When it was yet dark: Mary was seeking the Creator of all things in the tomb, and because she found Him not, thought He was stolen. Truly it was yet dark when she came to the sepulcher.

And sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher.

AUG. Now took place what Matthew only relates, the earthquake, and rolling away of the stone, and fight of the guards.

CHRYS. Our Lord rose while the stone and seal were still on the sepulcher. But as it was necessary that others should be certified of this, the sepulcher is opened after the resurrection, and so the fact confirmed. This it was which roused Mary. For when she saw the stone taken away, she entered not nor looked in, but ran to the disciples with all the speed of love. But as yet she knew nothing for certain about the resurrection, but thought that His body had been carried off.

GLOSS. And therefore she ran to tell the disciples, that they might seek Him with her, or grieve with her: Then she runs, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved.

AUG. This is the way in which he usually mentions himself. Jesus loved all, but him in an especial and familiar way. And says to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him.

GREG. She puts the part for the whole; she had come only to seek for the body of our Lord, and now she laments that our Lord, the whole of Him, is taken away.

AUG. Some of the Greek copies have, taken away my Lord, which is more expressive of love, and of the feeling of an handmaiden. But only a few have this reading.

CHRYS. The Evangelist does not deprive the woman of this praise, nor leaves out from shame, that they had the news first from her. As soon as they hear it, they hasten to the sepulcher.

GREG. But Peter and John before the others, for they loved most; Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher.

THEOPHYL. But how came they to the sepulcher, while the soldiers were guarding it? an easy question to answer. After our Lord's resurrection and the earthquake, and the appearance of the angel at the sepulcher, the guards withdrew, and told the Pharisees what had happened.

AUG. After saying, came to the sepulcher he goes back and tells us how they came: So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher; meaning himself, but he always speaks of himself, as if he were speaking of another person.

CHRYS. On coming he sees the linen clothes set aside: And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying. But he makes no further search: yet went he not in.

Peter on the other hand, being of a more fervid temper, pursued the search, and examined every thing: Then comes Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and sees the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Which circumstances were proof of His resurrection. For had they carried Him away, they would not have stripped Him; nor, if any had stolen Him, would they have taken the trouble to wrap up the napkin, and put it in a place by itself, apart from the linen clothes; but would have taken away the body as it was. John mentioned the myrrh first of all, for this reason, i.e. to show you that He could not have been stolen away. For myrrh would make the linen adhere to the body, and so caused trouble to the thieves, and they would never have been so senseless as to have taken this unnecessary pains about the matter.

After Peter however, John entered: Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed.

AUG. i.e. That Jesus had risen again, some think: Ah, but what follows contradicts this notion. He saw the sepulcher empty, and believed what the woman had said: For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. If he did not yet know that He must rise again from the dead, he could not believe that He had risen. They had heard as much indeed from our Lord, and very openly, but they were so accustomed to hear parables from Him, that they tool; this for a parable, and thought He meant something else.

GREG. But this account of the Evangelist must not be thought to be without some mystical meaning. By John, the younger of the two, the synagogue; by Peter, the elder, the Gentile Church is represented: for as though the synagogue was before the Gentile Church as regards the worship of God, as regards time the Gentile world was before the synagogue. They ran together, because the Gentile world ran side by side with the synagogue from first to last, in respect of purity and community of life, though a purity and community of understanding they had not.

The synagogue came first to the sepulcher, but entered not: it knew the commandments of the law, and had heard the prophecies of our Lord's incarnation and death, but would not believe in Him who died. Then comes Simon Peter, and entered into the sepulcher: the Gentile Church both knew Jesus Christ as dead man, and believed in Him as living God. The napkin about our Lord's head is not found with the linen clothes, i.e. God, the Head of Christ, and the incomprehensible mysteries of the Godhead are removed from our poor knowledge; His power transcends the nature of the creature. And it is found not only apart, but also wrapped together; because of the linen wrapped together, neither beginning nor end is seen; and the height of the Divine nature had neither beginning nor end. And it is into one place: for where there is division, God is not; and they merit His grace, who do not occasion scandal by dividing themselves into sects.

But as a napkin is what is used in laboring to wipe the sweat of the brow, by the napkin here we may understand the labor of God: which napkin is found apart, because the suffering of our Redeemer is far removed from ours; inasmuch as He suffered innocently, that which we suffer justly; He submitted Himself to death voluntarily, we by necessity. But after Peter entered, John entered too; for at the end of the world even Judea shall be gathered in to the true faith.

THEOPHYL. Or thus: Peter is practical and prompt, John contemplative and intelligent, and learned in divine things. Now the contemplative man is generally beforehand in knowledge and intelligence, but the practical by his fervor and activity gets the advance of the other's perception, and sees first into the divine mystery.

Catena Aurea John 20

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 24
1.	AND on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared.	Una autem sabbati valde diluculo venerunt ad monumentum, portantes quæ paraverant aromata :	τη δε μια των σαββατων ορθρου βαθεος ηλθον επι το μνημα φερουσαι α ητοιμασαν αρωματα και τινες συν αυταις
2.	And they found the stone rolled back from the sepulchre.	et invenerunt lapidem revolutum a monumento.	ευρον δε τον λιθον αποκεκυλισμενον απο του μνημειου
3.	And going in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus.	Et ingressæ non invenerunt corpus Domini Jesu.	και εισελθουσαι ουχ ευρον το σωμα του κυριου ιησου
4.	And it came to pass, as they were astonished in their mind at this, behold, two men stood by them, in shining apparel.	Et factum est, dum mente consternatæ essent de isto, ecce duo viri steterunt secus illas in veste fulgenti.	και εγενετο εν τω διαπορεισθαι αυτας περι τουτου και ιδου ανδρες δυο επεστησαν αυταις εν εσθησεσιν αστραπτουσαις
5.	And as they were afraid, and bowed down their countenance towards the ground, they said unto them: Why seek you the living with the dead?	Cum timerent autem, et declinarent vultum in terram, dixerunt ad illas : Quid quæritis viventem cum mortuis ?	εμφοβων δε γενομενων αυτων και κλινουσων το προσωπον εις την γην ειπον προς αυτας τι ζητειτε τον ζωντα μετα των νεκρων
6.	He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was in Galilee,	non est hic, sed surrexit : recordamini qualiter locutus est vobis, cum adhuc in Galilæa esset,	ουκ εστιν ωδε αλλ ηγερθη μνησθητε ως ελαλησεν υμιν ετι ων εν τη γαλιλαια
7.	Saying: The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.	dicens : Quia oportet Filium hominis tradi in manus hominum peccatorum, et crucifigi, et die tertia resurgere.	λεγων οτι δει τον υιον του ανθρωπου παραδοθηναι εις χειρας ανθρωπων αμαρτωλων και σταυρωθηναι και τη τριτη ημερα αναστηναι
8.	And they remembered his words.	Et recordatæ sunt verborum ejus.	και εμνησθησαν των ρηματων αυτου
9.	And going back from the sepulchre, they told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.	Et regressæ a monumento nuntiaverunt hæc omnia illis undecim, et ceteris omnibus.	και υποστρεψασαι απο του μνημειου απηγγειλαν ταυτα παντα τοις ενδεκα και πασιν τοις λοιποις
10.	And it was Mary Magdalen, and Joanna, and Mary of James, and the other women that were with them, who told these things to the apostles.	Erat autem Maria Magdalene, et Joanna, et Maria Jacobi, et ceteræ quæ cum eis erant, quæ dicebant ad apostolos hæc.	ησαν δε η μαγδαληνη μαρια και ιωαννα και μαρια [η] ιακωβου και αι λοιπαι συν αυταις αι ελεγον προς τους αποστολους ταυτα
11.	And these words seemed to them as idle tales; and they did not believe them.	Et visa sunt ante illos sicut deliramentum verba ista, et non crediderunt illis.	και εφανησαν ενωπιον αυτων ωσει ληρος τα ρηματα αυτων και ηπιστουν αυταις
12.	But Peter rising up, ran to the sepulchre, and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths laid by themselves; and went away wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.	Petrus autem surgens cucurrit ad monumentum : et procumbens vidit linteamina sola posita, et abiit secum mirans quod factum fuerat.	ο δε πετρος αναστας εδραμεν επι το μνημειον και παρακυψας βλεπει τα οθονια κειμενα μονα και απηλθεν προς εαυτον θαυμαζων το γεγονος

1. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher.
3. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said to them, Why seek you the living among the dead?
6. He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spoke to you when he was yet in Galilee,
7. Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8. And they remembered his words,
9. And returned from the se sepulcher, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.
10. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna; and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things to the apostles.
11. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
12. Then arose Peter, and ran to the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

BEDE; Devout women not only on the day of preparation, but also when the sabbath was passed, that is, at sun-set, as soon as the liberty of working returned, bought spices that they might come and anoint the body of Jesus, as Mark testifies. Still as long as night time restrained them, they came not to the sepulcher. And therefore it is said, On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, &c. One of the Sabbath, or the first of the Sabbath, is the first day from the Sabbath; which Christians are wont to call "the Lord s day", because of our Lord's resurrection. But by the women coming to the sepulcher very early in the morning, is manifested their great zeal and fervent love of seeking and finding the Lord.

AMBROSE; Now this place has caused great perplexity to many, because while St. Luke says, Very early in the morning, Matthew says that it was in the evening of the sabbath that the women came to the sepulcher. But you may suppose that the Evangelists spoke of different occasions, so as to understand both different parties of women, and different appearances. Because however it was written, that in the evening of the sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, our Lord rose, we must so take it, as that neither on the morning of the Lord's day, which is the first after the sabbath, nor on the sabbath, the resurrection should be thought to have taken place. For how are the three days fulfilled; Not then as the day grew towards evening, but in the evening of the night He rose. Lastly, in the Greek it is "late;" but late signifies both the hour at the end of the day, and the slowness of any thing; as we say, "I have been lately told." Late then is also the dead of the night. And thus also the women had the opportunity of coming to the sepulcher when the guards were asleep. And that you may know it was in the night time, some of the women are ignorant of it. They know who watch night and day, they know not who have gone back. According to John, one Mary Magdalene knows not, for the same person could not first know and then afterwards be ignorant. Therefore if there are several Marys, perhaps also there are several Mary Magdalenes, since the former is the name of a person, the second is derived from a place.

AUG. Or Matthew by the first part of the night, which is the evening, wished to represent the night itself, at the end of which night they came to the sepulcher, and for this reason, because they had been now preparing since the evening, and it was lawful to bring spices because the sabbath was over.

EUSEB. The Instrument of the Word lay dead, but a great stone enclosed the sepulcher, as if death had led Him captive. But three days had not yet elapsed, when life again puts itself forth after a sufficient proof of death, as it follows, And they found the stone rolled away.

THEOPHYL. An angel had rolled it away, as Matthew declares.

CHRYS. But the stone was rolled away after the resurrection, on account of the women, that they might believe that the Lord had risen again, seeing indeed the grave without the body. Hence it follows, And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus

CYRIL; When then they found not the body of Christ which was risen, they were distracted by various thoughts, and for their love of Christ and the tender care they had shown Him, were thought worthy of the vision of angels. For it follows, And it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.

EUSEB. The messengers of the health-bearing resurrection and their shining garments stand for tokens of pleasantness and rejoicing. For Moses preparing plagues against the Egyptians, perceived an angel in the flame of fire. But not such were those who appeared to the women at the sepulcher, but calm and joyful as became them to be seen in the kingdom and joy of the Lord. And as at the Passion the sun was darkened, holding forth signs of sorrow and woe to the crucifiers of our Lord, so the angels, heralds of life and resurrection, marked by their white garments the character of the health-bearing feast day.

AMBROSE; But how is it that Mark has mentioned one young man sitting in white garments, and Matthew one, but John and Luke relate that there were seen two angels sitting in white garments.

AUG. We may understand that one Angel was seen by the women, as both Mark and Matthew say, so as supposing them to have entered into the sepulcher, that is, into a certain space which was fenced off by a kind of wall in front of the stone sepulcher; and that there they saw an Angel sitting on the right hand, which Mark says, but that afterwards when they looked into the place where our Lord was lying, they saw within two other Angels standing, (as Luke says,) who spoke to encourage their minds, and build up their faith. Hence it follows, And as they were afraid,.

BEDE; The holy women, when the Angels stood beside them, are reported not to have fallen to the ground, but to have bowed their faces to the earth; nor do we read that any of the saints, at the time of our Lord's resurrection, worshipped with prostration to the ground either our Lord Himself, or the Angels who appeared to them. Hence has arisen the ecclesiastical custom, either in memory of our Lord's resurrection, or in the hope of our own, of praying on every Lord's day, and through the whole season of Pentecost, not with bended knees, but with our faces bowed to the earth. But not in the sepulcher, which is the place of the dead, was He to be sought, who rose from the dead to life. And therefore it is added, They said to them, that is, the Angels to the women, Why seek you the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. On the third day then, as He Himself foretold to the women, together with the rest of His disciples, He celebrated the triumph of His resurrection.

Hence it follows, Remember how he spoke to 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 on the third day rise again, &c. For on the day of the preparation at the ninth hour giving up the ghost, buried in the evening, early on the morning of the first day of the week He rose again.

ATHAN. He might indeed at once have raised His body from the dead. But some one would have said that He was never dead, or that death plainly had never existed in Him. And perhaps if the resurrection of our Lord had been delayed beyond the third day, the glory of incorruption had been concealed. In order therefore to show His body to be dead, He suffered the interval of one day, and on the third day manifested His body to be without corruption.

BEDE; One day and two nights also He lay in the sepulcher, because He joined the light of His single death to the darkness of our double death.

CYRIL; Now the women, when they had received the sayings of the Angels, hastened to tell them to the disciples; as it follows,

And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. For woman who was once the minister of death, is now the first to receive and tell the awful mystery of the resurrection. The female race has obtained therefore both deliverance from reproach, and the withdrawal of the curse.

AMBROSE; It is not allowed to women to teach in the church, but they shall ask their husbands at home. To those then who are at home is the woman sent. But who these women were he explains, adding, It was Mary Magdalene,

BEDE; (who was also the sister of Lazarus,) and Joanna, (the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward,) and Mary the mother of James, (that is, the mother of James the less, and Joseph.) And it is added generally of the others, and other women that were with them, which told these things to the Apostles.

BEDE; For that the woman might not endure the everlasting reproach of guilt from men, she who had transfused sin into the man, now also transfuses grace.

THEOPHYL. Now the miracle of the resurrection is naturally incredible to mankind. Hence it follows, And their words seemed to them as idle tales.

BEDE; Which was not so much their weakness, as so to speak our strength. For the resurrection itself was demonstrated to those who doubted by many proofs, which while we read and acknowledge we are through their doubts confirmed in the truth.

THEOPHYL. Peter, as soon as he heard this, delays not, but runs to the sepulcher; for fire when applied to matter knows no delay; as it follows, Then arose Peter, and ran to the sepulcher.

EUSEB. For he alone believed the women saying that they had seen Angels; and as he was of more ardent feelings than the rest, he anxiously put himself foremost, looking every where for the Lord; as it follows, And stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves.

THEOPHYL. But now when he was at the tomb, he first of all obtained that he should marvel at those things which had before been derided by himself or the others; as it is said, And departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass; that is, wondering in himself at the way in which it had happened, how the linen clothes had been left behind, since the body was anointed with myrrh; or what opportunity the thief had obtained, that putting away the clothes wrapped up by themselves, he should take away the body with the soldiers standing round.

AUG. Luke is supposed to have mentioned this concerning Peter, recapitulating. For Peter ran to the sepulcher at the same time that John also went, as soon as it had been told to them alone by the women, (especially Mary Magdalene,) that the body was taken away. But the vision of Angels took place afterwards. Luke therefore mentioned Peter only, because to him Mary first told it. It may also strike one, that Luke says that Peter, not entering but stooping down, saw the linen clothes by themselves, and departed wondering, whereas John says, that he himself saw the linen clothes in the same position, and that he entered after Peter. We must understand then that Peter first saw them stooping down, which Luke mentions, John omits, but that he afterwards entered before John came in.

BEDE; According to the mystical meaning, by the women coming early in the morning to the sepulcher, we have an example given us, that having cast away the darkness of our vices, we should come to the Body of the Lord. For that sepulcher also bore the figure of the Altar of the Lord, wherein herein the mysteries of Christ's Body, not in silk or purple cloth, but in pure white linen, like that in which Joseph wrapped it, ought to be consecrated, that as He offered up to death for us the true substance of His earthly nature, so we also in commemoration of Him should place on the Altar the flax, pure from the plant of the earth, and white, and in many ways refined by a kind of crushing to death. But the spices which the women bring, signify the odor of virtue, and the sweetness of prayers by which we ought to approach the Altar. The rolling back of the stone alludes to the unclosing of the Sacraments which were concealed by the veil of the letter of the law which was written on stone, the covering of which being taken away, the dead body of the Lord is not found, but the living body is preached; for although we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. But as when the Body of our Lord lay in the sepulcher, Angels are said to have stood by, so also at the time of consecration are they to be believed to stand by the mysteries of Christ. Let us then after the example of the devout women, whenever we approach the heavenly mysteries because of the presence of the Angels, or from reverence to the Sacred Offering, with all humility, bow our faces to the earth, recollecting that we are but dust and ashes.

Catena Aurea Luke 24

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 24
13.	And behold, two of them went, the same day, to a town which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus.	Et ecce duo ex illis ibant ipsa die in castellum, quod erat in spatio stadiorum sexaginta ab Jerusalem, nomine Emmaus.	και ιδου δυο εξ αυτων ησαν πορευομενοι εν αυτη τη ημερα εις κωμην απεχουσαν σταδιους εξηκοντα απο ιερουσαλημ η ονομα εμμαους
14.	And they talked together of all these things which had happened.	Et ipsi loquebantur ad invicem de his omnibus quæ acciderant.	και αυτοι ωμιλουν προς αλληλους περι παντων των συμβεβηκοτων τουτων
15.	And it came to pass, that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, Jesus himself also drawing near, went with them.	Et factum est, dum fabularentur, et secum quærerent : et ipse Jesus appropinquans ibat cum illis :	και εγενετο εν τω ομιλειν αυτους και συζητειν και αυτος ο ιησους εγγισας συνεπορευετο αυτοις
16.	But their eyes were held, that they should not know him.	oculi autem illorum tenebantur ne eum agnoscerent.	οι δε οφθαλμοι αυτων εκρατουντο του μη επιγνωναι αυτον
17.	And he said to them: What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad?	Et ait ad illos : Qui sunt hi sermones, quos confertis ad invicem ambulantes, et estis tristes ?	ειπεν δε προς αυτους τινες οι λογοι ουτοι ους αντιβαλλετε προς αλληλους περιπατουντες και εστε σκυθρωποι
18.	And the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering, said to him: Art thou only a stranger to Jerusalem, and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days?	Et respondens unus, cui nomen Cleophas, dixit ei : Tu solus peregrinus es in Jerusalem, et non cognovisti quæ facta sunt in illa his diebus ?	αποκριθεις δε ο εις ω ονομα κλεοπας ειπεν προς αυτον συ μονος παροικεις ιερουσαλημ και ουκ εγνως τα γενομενα εν αυτη εν ταις ημεραις ταυταις
19.	To whom he said: What things? And they said: Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people;	Quibus ille dixit : Quæ ? Et dixerunt : De Jesu Nazareno, qui fuit vir propheta, potens in opere et sermone coram Deo et omni populo :	και ειπεν αυτοις ποια οι δε ειπον αυτω τα περι ιησου του ναζωραιου ος εγενετο ανηρ προφητης δυνατος εν εργω και λογω εναντιον του θεου και παντος του λαου
20.	And how our chief priests and princes delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him.	et quomodo eum tradiderunt summi sacerdotes et principes nostri in damnationem mortis, et crucifixerunt eum :	οπως τε παρεδωκαν αυτον οι αρχιερεις και οι αρχοντες ημων εις κριμα θανατου και εσταυρωσαν αυτον
21.	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.	nos autem sperabamus quia ipse esset redempturus Israël : et nunc super hæc omnia, tertia dies est hodie quod hæc facta sunt.	ημεις δε ηλπιζομεν οτι αυτος εστιν ο μελλων λυτρουσθαι τον ισραηλ αλλα γε συν πασιν τουτοις τριτην ταυτην ημεραν αγει σημερον αφ ου ταυτα εγενετο
22.	Yea and certain women also of our company affrighted us, who before it was light, were at the sepulchre,	Sed et mulieres quædam ex nostris terruerunt nos, quæ ante lucem fuerunt ad monumentum,	αλλα και γυναικες τινες εξ ημων εξεστησαν ημας γενομεναι ορθριαι επι το μνημειον
23.	And not finding his body, came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that he is alive.	et non invento corpore ejus, venerunt, dicentes se etiam visionem angelorum vidisse, qui dicunt eum vivere.	και μη ευρουσαι το σωμα αυτου ηλθον λεγουσαι και οπτασιαν αγγελων εωρακεναι οι λεγουσιν αυτον ζην
24.	And some of our people went to the sepulchre, and found it so as the women had said, but him they found not.	Et abierunt quidam ex nostris ad monumentum : et ita invenerunt sicut mulieres dixerunt, ipsum vero non invenerunt.	και απηλθον τινες των συν ημιν επι το μνημειον και ευρον ουτως καθως και αι γυναικες ειπον αυτον δε ουκ ειδον
25.	Then he said to them: O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken.	Et ipse dixit ad eos : O stulti, et tardi corde ad credendum in omnibus quæ locuti sunt prophetæ !	και αυτος ειπεν προς αυτους ω ανοητοι και βραδεις τη καρδια του πιστευειν επι πασιν οις ελαλησαν οι προφηται
26.	Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?	Nonne hæc oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam ?	ουχι ταυτα εδει παθειν τον χριστον και εισελθειν εις την δοξαν αυτου
27.	And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things that were concerning him.	Et incipiens a Moyse, et omnibus prophetis, interpretabatur illis in omnibus scripturis quæ de ipso erant.	και αρξαμενος απο μωσεως και απο παντων των προφητων διηρμηνευεν αυτοις εν πασαις ταις γραφαις τα περι εαυτου
28.	And they drew night to the town, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go farther.	Et appropinquaverunt castello quo ibant : et ipse se finxit longius ire.	και ηγγισαν εις την κωμην ου επορευοντο και αυτος προσεποιειτο πορρωτερω πορευεσθαι
29.	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.	Et coëgerunt illum, dicentes : Mane nobiscum, quoniam advesperascit, et inclinata est jam dies. Et intravit cum illis.	και παρεβιασαντο αυτον λεγοντες μεινον μεθ ημων οτι προς εσπεραν εστιν και κεκλικεν η ημερα και εισηλθεν του μειναι συν αυτοις
30.	And it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread, and blessed, and brake, and gave to them.	Et factum est, dum recumberet cum eis, accepit panem, et benedixit, ac fregit, et porrigebat illis.	και εγενετο εν τω κατακλιθηναι αυτον μετ αυτων λαβων τον αρτον ευλογησεν και κλασας επεδιδου αυτοις
31.	And their eyes were opened, and they knew him: and he vanished out of their sight.	Et aperti sunt oculi eorum, et cognoverunt eum : et ipse evanuit ex oculis eorum.	αυτων δε διηνοιχθησαν οι οφθαλμοι και επεγνωσαν αυτον και αυτος αφαντος εγενετο απ αυτων
32.	And they said one to the other: Was not our heart burning within us, whilst he spoke in this way, and opened to us the scriptures?	Et dixerunt ad invicem : Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis dum loqueretur in via, et aperiret nobis Scripturas ?	και ειπον προς αλληλους ουχι η καρδια ημων καιομενη ην εν ημιν ως ελαλει ημιν εν τη οδω και ως διηνοιγεν ημιν τας γραφας
33.	And rising up, the same hour, they went back to Jerusalem: and they found the eleven gathered together, and those that were staying with them,	Et surgentes eadem hora regressi sunt in Jerusalem : et invenerunt congregatos undecim, et eos qui cum illis erant,	και ανασταντες αυτη τη ωρα υπεστρεψαν εις ιερουσαλημ και ευρον συνηθροισμενους τους ενδεκα και τους συν αυτοις
34.	Saying: The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.	dicentes : Quod surrexit Dominus vere, et apparuit Simoni.	λεγοντας οτι ηγερθη ο κυριος οντως και ωφθη σιμωνι
35.	And they told what things were done in the way; and how they knew him in the breaking of the bread.	Et ipsi narrabant quæ gesta erant in via, et quomodo cognoverunt eum in fractione panis.	και αυτοι εξηγουντο τα εν τη οδω και ως εγνωσθη αυτοις εν τη κλασει του αρτου

13. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17. And he said to them, What manner of communications are these that you have one to another, as you walk, and are sad?
18. And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said to him, Are you only a stranger in Jerusalem, and have not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19. And he said to them, What things? And they said to him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
22. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher;
23. And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

GLOSS. After the manifestation of Christ's resurrection made by the Angels to the women, the same resurrection is further manifested by an appearance of Christ Himself to His disciples; as it is said, And behold two of them.

THEOPHYL. Some say that Luke was one of these two, and for this reason concealed his name.

AMBROSE; Or to two of the disciples by themselves our Lord showed Himself in the evening, namely, Ammaon and Cleophas.

AUG. The fortress mentioned here we may not unreasonably take to have been also called according to Mark, a village. He next describes the fortress, saying, which was from Jerusalem about the space of sixty stades, called Emmaus.

BEDE; It is the same as Nicopolis, a remarkable town in Palestine, which after the taking of Judea under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius, changed together with its condition its name also. But the stadium which, as the Greeks say, was invented by Hercules to measure the distances of roads, is the eighth part of a mile; therefore sixty stades are equal to seven miles and fifty paces. And this was the length of journey which they were walking, who were certain about our Lord's death and burial, but doubtful concerning His resurrection. For the resurrection which took place after the seventh day of the week, no one doubts is implied in the number eight. The disciples therefore as the, walk and converse about the Lord had completed the sixth mile of their journey, for they were grieving that He who had lived without blame, had come at length even to death, which He underwent on the sixth day. They had completed also the seventh mile, for they doubted not that He rested in the grave. But of the eighth mile they had only accomplished half; for the glory of His already triumphant resurrection, they did not believe perfectly.

THEOPHYL. But the disciples above mentioned talked to one another of the things which had happened, not as believing them, but as bewildered at events so extraordinary.

BEDE; And as they spoke of Him, the Lord comes near and joins them, that He may both influence their minds with faith in His resurrection, and fulfill that which He had promised, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there, am I in the midst of them; as it follows, And it came to pass while they communed to-tether and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

THEOPHYL. For having now obtained a spiritual body, distance of place is no obstacle to His being present to whom he wished, nor did He any further govern His body by natural laws, but spiritually and supernaturally. Hence as Mark says, He appeared to them in a different form, in which they were not permitted to know Him; for it follows, And their eyes were holden that they should not know him; in order truly that they may reveal their entirely doubtful conceptions, and uncovering their wound may receive a cure; and that they might know that although the same body which suffered, rose again, yet it was no longer such as to be visible to all, but only to those by whom He willed it to be seen; and that they should not wonder why henceforth He walks not among the people, seeing that His conversation was not fit for mankind, but rather divine; which is also the character of the resurrection to come, in which we shall walk as the Angels and the sons of God.

GREG. Rightly also he refrained from manifesting to them a form which they might recognize, doing that outwardly in the eyes of the body, which was done by themselves inwardly in tile eyes of the mind. For they in themselves inwardly both loved and doubted. Therefore to them as they talked of Him He exhibited His presence, but as they doubted of Him He concealed the appearance which they knew. He indeed conversed with them, for it follows, And he said to them, What manner of communications, &c.

GREEK EX. They were in truth discoursing among themselves, no longer expecting to see Christ alive, but sorrowing as concerning their Savior slain. Hence it follows, And one of them whose name was Cleophas, answering him said, Are you only a stranger?

THEOPHYL. As if he said, "Are you a mere stranger, and one dwelling beyond the confines of Jerusalem, and therefore unacquainted with what has happened in the midst of it, that you know not these things;

BEDE; Or he says this, because they thought Him a stranger, whose countenance they did not recognize. But in reality He was a stranger to them, from the infirmity of whose natures, now that He had obtained the glory of the resurrection, He was far removed, and to whose faith, as yet ignorant of His resurrection, He remained foreign. But again the Lord asks; for it follows, And he said to them, What things? And their answer is given, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet. They confess Him to be a Prophet, but say nothing of the Son of God; either not yet perfectly believing, or fearful of falling into the hands of the persecuting Jews, either knowing not who He was, or concealing the truth which they believed. They add in praise of Him, mighty in deed and word.

THEOPHYL. First comes deed, then word; for no word of teaching is approved unless first he who teaches shows himself to be a doer thereof. For acting goes before sight; for unless by your works you have cleansed the glass of the understanding, the desired brightness does not appear. But still further it is added, Before God and all the people. For first of all we must please God, and then have regard as far as we can to honesty before men, that placing the honor of God first, we may live without offense to mankind.

GREEK EX. They next assign the cause of their sadness, the betrayal and passion of Christ; and add in the voice of despair, But we hoped it had been he who should trace redeemed Israel. We hoped, (he says,) not we hope; as if the death of the Lord were like to the deaths of other men.

THEOPHYL. For they expected that Christ would redeem Israel from the evils that were rising up among them and the Roman slavery. They trusted also that He was an earthly king, whom they thought would be able to escape the sentence of death passed upon Him.

BEDE; Reason had they then for sorrow, because in some sort they blamed themselves for having hoped redemption in Him whom now they saw dead, and believed not that He would rise again, and most of all they bewailed Him put to death without a cause, whom they knew to be innocent.

THEOPHYL. And yet those men seem not to have been altogether without faith, by what follows, And besides all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Whereby they seem to have a recollection of what the Lord had told them that He would rise again on the third day.

GREEK EX. The disciples also mention the report of the resurrection which was brought by the women; adding, Yes, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, &c. They say this indeed as if they did not believe it; wherefore they speak of themselves as frightened or astonished.

For they did consider as established what was told them, or that there had been an angelic revelation, but derived from it reason for astonishment and alarm. The testimony of Peter also they did not regard as certain, since he did not say that he had seen our Lord, but conjectured His resurrection from the fact that His body was not lying in the sepulcher.

Hence it follows, And certain of them that were with us went, &c.

AUG. But since Luke has said that Peter ran to the sepulcher; and has himself related the words of Cleophas, that some of them went to the sepulcher, he is understood to confirm the testimony of John, that two went to the sepulcher. He first mentioned Peter only, because to him first Mary had related the news.

25. Then he said to them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28. And they drew nigh to the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave to them.
31. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?
33. And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
34. Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon.
35. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

THEOPHYL. Because the above-mentioned disciples were troubled with too much doubt, the Lord reproves them, saying, O fools, (for they almost used the same words as those who stood by the cross, He saved others, himself he cannot save.) And He proceeds, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. For it is possible to believe some of these things and not all; as if a man should believe what the Prophets say of the cross of Christ, as in the Psalms, They pierced my hands and my feet; but should not believe what they say of the resurrection, as, You shall not suffer your Holy One to see corruption. But it becomes us in all things to give faith to the Prophets, as well in the glorious things which they predicted of Christ, as the inglorious, since through the suffering of evil things is the entrance into glory.

Hence it follows, Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory? that is, as respects His humanity.

ISID. PEL. But although it behooved Christ to suffer, yet they who crucified Him are guilty of inflicting the punishment. For they were not concerned to accomplish what God purposed. Therefore their execution of it was impious, but God's purpose most wise, who converted their iniquity into a blessing upon mankind, using as it were the viper's flesh for the working of a health-giving antidote.

CHRYS. And therefore our Lord goes on to show that all these things did not happen in a common way, but from the predestined purpose of God. Hence it follows, And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself: As if He said, Since you are slow I will render you quick, by explaining to you the mysteries of the Scriptures. For the sacrifice of Abraham, when releasing Isaac he sacrificed the ram, prefigured Christ's sacrifice. But in the other writings of the Prophets also there are scattered about mysteries of Christ's cross and the resurrection.

BEDE; But if Moses and the Prophets spoke of Christ, and prophesied that through His Passion He would enter into glory, how does that man boast that he is a Christian. who neither searches how these Scriptures relate to Christ, nor desires to attain by suffering to that glory which he hopes to have with Christ.

GREEK EX. But since the Evangelist said before, Their eyes were holden that they should not know him, until the words, of the Lord should move their minds to faith, He fitly affords in addition to their hearing a favorable object to their sight As it follows, And they drew night to the fortress whither they were going, and he feigned as if he was going further.

AUG. Now this relates not to falsehood. For not every thing we feign is a falsehood, but only when we feign that which means nothing. But when our feigning has reference to a certain meaning it is not a falsehood, but a kind of figure of the truth. Otherwise all the things figuratively spoken by wise and holy men, or even by our Lord Himself must be accounted falsehoods. For to the experienced understanding truth consists not in certain words, but as words so also deeds are feigned without falsehood to signify a particular thing.

GREG. Because then He was still a stranger to faith in their hearts, He feigned as if he would go further. By the word "fingere" we mean to put together or form, and hence formers or preparers of mud we call "figuli." He who was the Truth itself did nothing then by deceit, but exhibited Himself in the body such as He came before them in their minds. But because they could not be strangers to charity, with whom charity was walking, they invite Him as if a stranger to partake of their hospitality.

Hence it follows, And they compelled him. From which example it is gathered that strangers are not only to be invited to hospitality, but even to be taken by force.

GLOSS. They not only compel Him by their actions, but induce Him by their words; for it follows, saying, Abide with us, for it is towards evening, and the day is far gone, (that is, towards its close.)

GREG. Now behold Christ since He is received through His members, so He seeks His receivers through Himself; for it follows, And he went in with them.

They lay out a table, they bring food. And God whom they had not known in the expounding of Scriptures, they knew in the breaking of bread; for it follows, And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave it to them.

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him.

CHRYS. This was said not of their bodily eyes, but of their mental sight.

AUG. For they walked not with their eyes shut, but there was something within them which did not permit them to know that which they saw, which a mist, darkness, or some kind of moisture, frequently occasions. Not that the Lord was not able to transform His flesh that it should be really a different form from that which they were accustomed to behold; since in truth also before His passion, He was transfigured in the mount, so that His face was bright as the sun. But it was not so now. For we do not unfitly take this obstacle in the sight to have been caused by Satan, that Jesus might not be known. But still it was so permitted by Christ up to the sacrament of the bread, that by partaking of the unity of His body, the obstacle of the enemy might be understood to be removed, so that Christ might be known.

THEOPHYL. But He also implies another thing, that the eyes of those who receive the sacred bread are opened that they should know Christ. For the Lord's flesh has in it a great and ineffable power.

AUG. Or because the Lord feigned as if He would go farther, when He was accompanying the disciples, expounding to them the sacred Scriptures, who knew not whether it was He, what does He mean to imply but that through the duty of hospitality men may arrive at a knowledge of Him; that when He has departed from mankind far above the heavens, He is still with those who perform this duty to His servants. He therefore holds to Christ, that He should not go far from him, whoever being taught in the word communicates in all good things to him who teaches. For they were taught in the word when He expounded to them the Scriptures. And because they followed hospitality, Him whom they knew not in the expounding of the Scriptures, they know in the breaking of bread. For not the hearers of the law are just before God but the doers of the law shall be justified.

GREG. Whoever then wishes to understand what he has heard, let him hasten to fulfill in work what he can now understand. Behold the Lord was not known when He was speaking, and He vouchsafed to be known when He is eating. It follows, And he vanished out of their sight.

THEOPHYL. For He had not such a body as that He was able to abide longer with them, that thereby likewise He might increase their affections. And they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

ORIGEN; By which is implied, that the words uttered by the Savior inflamed the hearts of the hearers to the love of God.

GREG. By the word which is heard the spirit is kindled the chill of dullness departs, the mind becomes awakened with heavenly desire. It rejoices to hear heavenly precepts, and every command in which it is instructed, is as it were adding a faggot to the fire.

THEOPHYL. Their hearts then were turned either by the fire of our Lord's words, to which they listened as the truth, or because as he expounded the Scriptures, their hearts were greatly struck within them, that He who was speaking was the Lord. Therefore were they so rejoiced, that without delay they returned to Jerusalem. And hence what follows, And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem. They rose up indeed the same hour, but they arrived after many hours, as they had to travel sixty stades.

AUG. It had been already reported that Jesus had risen by the women, and by Simon Peter, to whom He had appeared. For these two disciples found them talking of these things when they came to Jerusalem; as it follows, And they found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them., saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon.

BEDE; It seems that our Lord appeared to Peter first of all those whom the four Evangelists and the Apostle mention.

CHRYS. For He did not show Himself to all at the same time, in order that He might sow the seeds of faith. For he who had first seen and was sure, told it to the rest. Afterwards the word going forth prepared the mind of the hearer for the sight, and therefore He appeared first to him who was of all the most worthy and faithful. For He had need of the most faithful soul to first receive this sight, that it might be least disturbed by the unexpected appearance. And therefore He is first seen by Peter, that he who first confessed Christ should first deserve to see His resurrection, and also because he had denied Him He wished to see him first, to console him, lest he should despair. But after Peter, He appeared to the rest, at one time fewer in number, at another more, which the two disciples attest; for it follows, And they told what things were done by the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

AUG. But with respect to what Mark says, that they told the rest, and they did not believe them, whereas Luke says, that they had already begun to say, The Lord is risen indeed, what must we understand, except that there were some even then who refused to believe this?

Catena Aurea Luke 24

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John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 20
1.	AND on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen cometh early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre; and she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre.	Una autem sabbati, Maria Magdalene venit mane, cum adhuc tenebræ essent, ad monumentum : et vidit lapidem sublatum a monumento.	τη δε μια των σαββατων μαρια η μαγδαληνη ερχεται πρωι σκοτιας ετι ουσης εις το μνημειον και βλεπει τον λιθον ηρμενον εκ του μνημειου
2.	She ran, therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith to them: They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.	Cucurrit ergo, et venit ad Simonem Petrum, et ad alium discipulum, quem amabat Jesus, et dicit illis : Tulerunt Dominum de monumento, et nescimus ubi posuerunt eum.	τρεχει ουν και ερχεται προς σιμωνα πετρον και προς τον αλλον μαθητην ον εφιλει ο ιησους και λεγει αυτοις ηραν τον κυριον εκ του μνημειου και ουκ οιδαμεν που εθηκαν αυτον
3.	Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the sepulchre.	Exiit ergo Petrus, et ille alius discipulus, et venerunt ad monumentum.	εξηλθεν ουν ο πετρος και ο αλλος μαθητης και ηρχοντο εις το μνημειον
4.	And they both ran together, and that other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.	Currebant autem duo simul, et ille alius discipulus præcucurrit citius Petro, et venit primus ad monumentum.	ετρεχον δε οι δυο ομου και ο αλλος μαθητης προεδραμεν ταχιον του πετρου και ηλθεν πρωτος εις το μνημειον
5.	And when he stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying; but yet he went not in.	Et cum se inclinasset, vidit posita linteamina : non tamen introivit.	και παρακυψας βλεπει κειμενα τα οθονια ου μεντοι εισηλθεν
6.	Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulchre, and saw the linen cloths lying,	Venit ergo Simon Petrus sequens eum, et introivit in monumentum, et vidit linteamina posita,	ερχεται ουν σιμων πετρος ακολουθων αυτω και εισηλθεν εις το μνημειον και θεωρει τα οθονια κειμενα
7.	And the napkin that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapped up into one place.	et sudarium, quod fuerat super caput ejus, non cum linteaminibus positum, sed separatim involutum in unum locum.	και το σουδαριον ο ην επι της κεφαλης αυτου ου μετα των οθονιων κειμενον αλλα χωρις εντετυλιγμενον εις ενα τοπον
8.	Then that other disciple also went in, who came first to the sepulchre: and he saw, and believed.	Tunc ergo introivit et ille discipulus qui venerat primus ad monumentum : et vidit, et credidit :	τοτε ουν εισηλθεν και ο αλλος μαθητης ο ελθων πρωτος εις το μνημειον και ειδεν και επιστευσεν
9.	For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.	nondum enim sciebant Scripturam, quia oportebat eum a mortuis resurgere.	ουδεπω γαρ ηδεισαν την γραφην οτι δει αυτον εκ νεκρων αναστηναι