The divine soul of Christ our
Redeemer remained in limbo from half past three of Friday afternoon, until
after three of the Sunday morning following. During this hour He returned to
the Sepulchre as the victorious Prince of the angels and of the saints, whom He
had delivered from those nether prisons as spoils of his victory and as an
earnest of his glorious triumph over the chastised and prostrate rebels of
hell. In the sepulchre were many angels as its guard, venerating the sacred
body united to the Divinity.
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| Angels inside the tomb venerating the body of Christ |
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| Angels outside the tomb venerating the body of Christ |
Some of them, obeying the command of their Queen
and Mistress, had gathered the relics of the sacred blood shed by her divine
Son, the particles of flesh scattered about, the hair torn from his divine face
and head, and all else that belonged to the perfection and integrity of his
most sacred humanity. On these the Mother of prudence lavished her solicitous
care. The angels took charge of these relics, each one filled with joy at being
privileged to hold the particles, which he was able to secure. Before any
change was made, the body of the Redeemer was shown to the holy Fathers, in the
same wounded, lacerated and disfigured state in which it was left by the
cruelty of the Jews.
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| The disfigured body of Christ as shown to the souls in limbo |
Beholding Him thus disfigured in death,the Patriarchs and
Prophets and other saints adored Him and again confessed Him as the incarnate
Word, who had truly taken upon Himself our infirmities and sorrows (Is. 53, 4)
and paid abundantly our debts, satisfying in his innocence and guiltlessness
for what we ourselves owed to the justice of the eternal Father. There did our
first parents Adam and Eve see the havoc wrought by their disobedience, the
priceless remedy it necessitated, the immense goodness and mercy of the
Redeemer. As they felt the effects of his copious Redemption in the glory of
their souls, they praised anew the Omnipotent and Saint of saints, who had with
such marvellous wisdom wrought such a salvation.
Then, in the presence of
all those saints, through the ministry of those angels, were united to the
sacred body all the relics, which they had gathered, restoring it to its
natural perfection and integrity. In the same moment the most holy soul
reunited with the body, giving it immortal life and glory. Instead of the winding
sheets and the ointments, in which it had been buried, it was clothed with the four giftsof glory, namely: with clearness, impassibility, agility and subtlety
(John 19, 40). These gifts overflowed from the immense glory of the soul of
Christ into the sacred body.
By clearness his body became brighter than many suns put
together.
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| his body became brighter than many suns put together. |
Through impassibility his body became
invincible to all created power, since no power can ever move or change Him. By
subtletythe gross and earthly
matter was so purified, that it could now penetrate other matter like a pure
spirit. Accordingly He penetrated through the rocks of the sepulchre without
removing or displacing them, just as He had issued forth from the womb of his
most blessed Mother. Agility
so freed Him from the weight and slowness of matter, that it exceeded the
agility of the immaterial angels, while He himself could move about more
quickly than they, as shown in his apparitions to the Apostles and on other
occasions. The sacred wounds, which had disfigured his body, now shone forth
from his hands and feet and side so refulgent and brilliant, that they added a
most entrancing beauty and charm. In all this glory and heavenly adornment the Saviour
now arose from the grave; and in the presence of the saints and Patriarchs He
promised universal resurrection in their own flesh and body to all men, and
that they moreover, as an effect of his own Resurrection, should be similarly
glorified. As an earnest and as a pledge of the universal resurrection, the
Lord commanded the souls of many saints there present to reunite with their
bodies and rise up to immortal life.
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| Christ commanding the holy souls from limbo to resurrect with Him |
Immediately this divine command was
executed, and their bodies arose, as is mentioned by saint Matthew, in
anticipation of this mystery (Matthew 27, 52). Among them was saint Anne, saint
Joseph and saint Joachim, and others of the ancient Fathers and Patriarchs, who
had distinguished themselves in the faith and hope of the Incarnation, and had
desired and prayed for it with greater earnestness to the Lord. As a reward for
their zeal, the resurrection and glory of their bodies was now anticipated
