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From: Luke 24:1-12

The Women Are Told That Jesus Is Risen

[1] But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking
the spices which they had prepared. [2] And they found the stone rolled away
from the tomb, [3] but when they went in they did not find the body. [4] While
they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling ap-
parel; [5] and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the
men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here,
but has risen. [6] Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, [7]
that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be cru-
cified, and on the third day rise.” [8] And they remembered his words, [9] and
returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. [10]
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and
the other women with them who told this to the apostles; [11] but these words
seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. [12] But Peter rose
and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by them-
selves; and he went home wondering at what had happened.

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Commentary:

1-4. The affection which led the holy women to make the necessary prepara-
tions for the embalming of Jesus’ body was, perhaps, an intuition of faith which
the Church would express more elaborately much later on: “We firmly believe
that when his soul was dissociated from his body, his divinity continued always
united both to his body in the sepulchre and to his soul in limbo” (”St Pius V
Catechism”, I, 5, 6).

5-8. True faith concerning the resurrection of Jesus teaches that he truly died,
that is, his soul was separated from his body, and his body was in the grave for
three days; and that then by his own power his body and soul were united once
more, never again to be separated (cf. “St Pius V Catechism”, I, 6, 7).

Although this is a strictly supernatural mystery there are some elements in it
which come within the category of sense experience—death, burial, the empty
tomb, appearances, etc.—and in this sense it is a demonstrable fact and one
which has been verified (cf. St Pius X, “Lamentabili”, 36-37).

Jesus Christ’s resurrection completes the work of Redemption, “For just as by
dying he endured all evil to deliver us from evil, so was he glorified in rising again
to advance us towards good things, according to Rom 4:25 which says that ‘he
was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification’” (St Thomas
Aquinas, “Summa Theologiae”, III, q. 53, a. 1, c.).

“’Christ is alive.’ This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus,
who died on the cross, has risen. He has triumphed over death; he has over-
come sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness. ‘Do not be amazed’ was how
the angels greeted the women who came to the tomb. ‘Do not be amazed. You
seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here’ (Mk
16:6). ‘This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it’
(Ps 117:24).

“Easter is a time of joy—a joy not confined to this period of the liturgical year, for
it should always be present in the Christian’s heart. For Christ is alive. He is not
someone who has gone, someone who existed for a time and then passed on,
leaving us a wonderful example and a great memory.

“No, Christ is alive, Jesus is the Emmanuel: God with us. His Resurrection
shows us that God does not abandon his own. He promised he would not: ‘Can
a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the
son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you’ (Is 49:15).
And he has kept his promise. His delight is still to be with the children of men
cf. Prov 8:31)” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 102).

Through Baptism and the other sacraments, a Christian becomes part of the re-
demptive mystery of Christ, part of his death and resurrection: “You were buried
with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the
working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col 2: 12). “If then you have
been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things
that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col
3:13).

9-12. The first people to whom the angel announced the birth of Christ were the
shepherds at Bethlehem; and the first to be told of his resurrection are these
devout women: one further sign of God’s preference for simple and sincere souls
is the fact that he gives them this honor which the world would not appreciate
(cf. Mt 11:25). But it is not only their simplicity and kindness and sincerity that
attracts him: poor people (such as shepherds) and women were looked down
on in those times, and Jesus loves anyone who is humbled by the pride of men.
The women’s very simplicity and goodness lead them to go immediately to Peter
and the Apostles to tell them everything they have seen and heard. Peter, whom
Christ promised to make his vicar on earth (cf. Mt 16:18) feels he must take the
initiative in checking out their story.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: John 20:1-18 (or 1-9) (Or the Gospel from the Easter Vigil may be used)

The Empty Tomb

[1] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early,
while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the
tomb. [2] So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one
whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they have laid Him.” [3] Peter then came out with the
other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. [4] They both ran, but the other
disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; [5] and stooping to look in, he
saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. [6] Then Simon Peter
came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, [7]
and the napkin, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but
rolled up in a place by itself. [8] Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb
first, also went in, and he saw and believed; [9] for as yet they did not know the
Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. [10] Then the disciples went back
to their homes.

The Appearance To Mary Magdalene

[11] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped
to look into the tomb; [12] and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the
body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. [13] They said to
her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have
taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” [14] Saying
this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it
was Jesus. [15] Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do
you seek?” Supposing Him to be gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have
carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
[16] Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbo-
ni!” (which means Teacher). [17] Jesus said to her, “Do not hold Me, for I have
not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I am
ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.” [18] Mary
Magdalene went and said to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told
them that He had said these things to her.

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Commentary:

1-2. All four Gospels report the first testimonies of the holy women and the dis-
ciples regarding Christ’s glorious resurrection, beginning with the fact of the emp-
ty tomb (cf. Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1ff; Luke 24:1-12) and then telling of the
various appearances of the risen Jesus.

Mary Magdalene was one of the women who provided for our Lord during His
journeys (Luke 8:1-3); along with the Virgin Mary she bravely stayed with Him
right up to His final moments (John 19:25), and she saw where His body was
laid (Luke 23:55). Now, after the obligatory Sabbath rest, she goes to visit the
tomb. The Gospel points out that she went “early, when it was still dark”: her
love and veneration led her to go without delay, to be with our Lord’s body.

4. The Fourth Gospel makes it clear that, although the women, and specifically
Mary Magdalene, were the first to reach the tomb, the Apostles were the first
to enter it and see the evidence that Christ had risen (the empty tomb, the linen
clothes “lying” and the napkin in a place by itself). Bearing witness to this will
be an essential factor in the mission which Christ will entrust to them: “You
shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem...and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8; cf.
Acts 2:32).

John, who reached the tomb first (perhaps because he was the younger), did
not go in, out of deference to Peter. This is an indication that Peter was alrea-
dy regarded as leader of the Apostles.

5-7. The words the Evangelist uses to describe what Peter and he saw in the
empty tomb convey with vivid realism the impression it made on them, etching
on their memory details which at first sight seem irrelevant. The whole scene
inside the tomb in some way caused them to intuit that the Lord had risen.
Some of the words contained in the account need further explanation, so terse
is the translation.

“The linen clothes lying there”: the Greek participle translated as “lying there”
seems to indicate that the clothes were flattened, deflated, as if they were emp-
tied when the body of Jesus rose and disappeared—as if it had come out of the
clothes and bandages without their being unrolled, passing right through them
(just as later He entered the Cenacle when the doors were shut). This would
explain the clothes being “fallen”, “flat” “lying”, which is how the Greek literally
translates, after Jesus’ body—which had filled them—left them. One can readily
understand how this would amaze a witness, how unforgettable the scene
would be.

“The napkin...rolled up in a place by itself”: the first point to note is that the
napkin, which had been wrapped round the head, was not on top of the clothes,
but placed on one side. The second, even more surprising thing is that, like the
clothes, it was still rolled up but, unlike the clothes, it still had a certain volume,
like a container, possibly due to the stiffness given it by the ointments: this is
what the Greek participle, here translated as “rolled”, seems to indicate.

From these details concerning the empty tomb one deduces that Jesus’ body
must have risen in a heavenly manner, that is, in a way which transcended the
laws of nature. It was not only a matter of the body being reanimated as hap-
pened, for example, in the case of Lazarus, who had to be unbound before he
could walk (cf. John 11:44).

8-10. As Mary Magdalene had told them, the Lord was not in the tomb; but the
two Apostles realized that there was no question of any robbery, which was
what she thought had happened, because they saw the special way the clothes
and napkin were; they know began to understand what the Master had so often
told them about His death and resurrection (cf. Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke
9:22; etc....)

The empty tomb and the other facts were perceptible to the senses; but the resur-
rection, even though it had effects that could be tested by experience, requires
faith if it is to be accepted. Christ’s resurrection is a real, historic fact: His body
and soul were re-united. But since His was a glorious resurrection unlike Laza-
rus’, far beyond our capacity in this life to understand what happened, and out-
side the scope of sense experience, a special gift of God is required — the gift of
faith — to know and accept as a certainty this fact which, while it is historical, is
also supernatural. Therefore, St. Thomas Aquinas can say that “the individual ar-
guments taken alone are not sufficient proof of Christ’s resurrection, but taken to-
gether, in a cumulative way, they manifest it perfectly. Particularly important in
this regard are the spiritual proofs (cf. specially Luke 24:25-27), the angelic tes-
timony (cf. Luke 24:4-7) and Christ’s own post-resurrection word confirmed by mi-
racles (cf. John 3:13; Matthew 16:21; 17:22; 20:18)” (St. Thomas Aquinas, “Sum-
ma Theologiae”, III, q. 55, a. 6 ad 1).

In addition to Christ’s predictions about His passion, death and resurrection (cf.
John 2:19; Matthew 16:21; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:22), the Old Testament also fore-
tells the glorious victory of the Messiah and, in some way, His resurrection (cf.
Psalm 16:9; Isaiah 52:13; Hosea 6:2). The Apostles begin to grasp the true
meaning of Sacred Scripture after the resurrection, particularly once they re-
ceive the Holy Spirit, who fully enlightens their minds to understand the content
of the Word of God. It is easy to imagine the surprise and elation they all feel
when Peter and John tell them what they have seen in the tomb.

11-18. Mary’s affection and sensitivity lead her to be concerned about what has
become of the dead body of Jesus. This woman out of whom seven demons were
cast (cf. Luke 8:2) stayed faithful during His passion and even now her love is
still ardent: our Lord had freed her from the Evil One and she responded to that
grace humbly and generously.

After consoling Mary Magdalene, Jesus gives her a message for the Apostles,
whom He tenderly calls His “brethren”. This message implies that He and they
have the same Father, though each in an essentially different way: “I am ascen-
ding to My Father” — My own Father by nature — “and to your Father” — for He
is your Father through the adoption I have won for you and by My death. Jesus,
the Good Shepherd, shows His great mercy and understanding by gathering to-
gether all His disciples who had abandoned Him during His passion and were
now in hiding for fear of the Jews (John 20:19).

Mary Magdalene’s perseverance teaches us that anyone who sincerely keeps
searching for Jesus Christ will eventually find Him. Jesus’ gesture in calling His
disciples His “brethren” despite their having run away should fill us with love in
the midst of our own infidelities.

15. From Jesus’ dialogue with Mary Magdalene, we can see the frame of mind
all His disciples must have been in: they were not expecting the resurrection.

17. “Do not hold Me”: the use of the negative imperative in the Greek, reflected
in the New Vulgate (”noli me tenere”) indicates that our Lord is telling Mary to
release her hold of Him, to let Him go, since she will have another chance to
see Him before His ascension into Heaven.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.