After
Jesus our Saviour, arisen and glorified, had visited and filled with glory his
most blessed Mother, He resolved, as the loving Father and Pastor, to gather
the sheep of his flock, which the scandal of his sufferings had disturbed and
scattered. The holy Patriarchs and all whom He had rescued from limbo
continually remained in his company, although they remained invisible during
his apparitions; only our great Queen was privileged to see them, know them and
speak to them all during the time intervening between the Resurrection and the
Ascension of her divine Son.
For
the purpose of making his Resurrection known to his Apostles, He began by
showing Himself to the women, not on account of their weakness, but because
they were stronger in their belief and in their hope of the Resurrection; for
this is the reason why they merited the privilege of being the first to see Him
arisen.
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| Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalen |
As
soon as Magdalen recognized Jesus she was aflame with joyous love and answered
saying: “Rabboni, my Master!”
Throwing herself at his feet, she was about to touch and kiss them, as being
used to that favour. But the Lord prevented her and said: “Do not touch Me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father whence I came;
but return and tell my brethren, the Apostles, that I am going to my Father and
theirs.”
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| And Jesus said do not touch me |
Then Magdalen left, filled with consolation and jubilee. Shortly
she met the other Marys. Scarcely had they heard what had happened to her and
how she had seen Jesus arisen from the grave, and while they were yet standing
together conferring with each other in wonder and tears of joy, He appeared to
them and said: “God save you.” They
all recognized Him and, as saint Matthew tells us, they worshipped his sacred
feet. The Lord again commanded them to go to the Apostles and tell them, that
they had seen Him and that they should go to Galilee, where they should see Him
arisen (Matth. 22, 9).
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| He appeared to them and said: “God save you.” |
Jesus then disappeared and the holy women hastened to
the upper room house to tell the Apostles all that had happened to them; but
the Apostles continued to hesitate in their belief (Luke 24, 11). Although the
disciples and Apostles considered the tale of the Marys mere preposterous talk,
saint Peter and saint John, desirous of convincing themselves with their own
eyes, departed in all haste to the sepulchre, closely followed by the holy
women (John 20, 3).
