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| date | Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:16:17 +0000 |
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| 4 <body style=text-align:justify><blockquote> | |
| 5 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">20</span> | |
| 6 <p align=center><B>LECTURE I</B> | |
| 7 <BLOCKQUOTE><p><b>1 Now on the first day of the week [one day of the | |
| 8 Sabbath] Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and | |
| 9 saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran, and went to | |
| 10 Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, | |
| 11 "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have | |
| 12 laid him." 3 Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward | |
| 13 the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the | |
| 14 tomb first; 5 and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but | |
| 15 he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the | |
| 16 tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his | |
| 17 head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 | |
| 18 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw | |
| 19 and believed; 9 for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise | |
| 20 from the dead.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"><b>[1]</b></a></b></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 21 | |
| 22 <p>2470 Having related the mysteries of the passion of Christ, | |
| 23 the Evangelist now speaks of the resurrection. First, he says the resurrection | |
| 24 was made known to certain women; secondly, to the disciples (v 19). The | |
| 25 revelation of Christ's resurrection to the women went in stages: first, there | |
| 26 is the open tomb; secondly, the appearance of the angel (v 11); thirdly, the | |
| 27 sight of Christ (v 14). In regard to the first, he first mentions the sight of | |
| 28 the open tomb; secondly, this news is reported to the disciples (v 2); and | |
| 29 thirdly, they see for themselves (v 3). | |
| 30 | |
| 31 <p>2471 Four things can be noted about the first. First, the | |
| 32 time: it was <b>one day of the sabbath, </b>that is, the first day of the week. | |
| 33 The Jews considered the sabbath as a very sacred day, and all the other days | |
| 34 were described in reference to the sabbath. Thus they spoke of the first day of | |
| 35 the sabbath, the second day of the sabbath, and so on. Matthew [28:1] speaks of | |
| 36 the "first day of the sabbath". But John speaks of "one day of the sabbath" | |
| 37 because he is referring to a mystery, for this day of the resurrection was the | |
| 38 beginning of a new creation: "When you send forth your Spirit, they are | |
| 39 created; and you renew the face of the ground" (Ps 104:30); "For neither | |
| 40 circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation" (Gal | |
| 41 6:15). In Genesis (1:5), when Moses is speaking of the first day of creation he | |
| 42 says "one day." "God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. | |
| 43 And there was evening and there was morning, one day." And so the Evangelist | |
| 44 uses these words of Moses because he wants to express a newness. And also | |
| 45 because this day begins the day of eternity, which is one day, no night | |
| 46 interrupting it, because the sun which makes this day will never set. "And the | |
| 47 city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its | |
| 48 light, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Rev 21:23); "There will be one day, which is | |
| 49 known to the Lord, not day and night, for at evening time there will be light" | |
| 50 [Zech 14:7]. | |
| 51 | |
| 52 <p>2472 Secondly, the person who saw the tomb is given, <b>Mary | |
| 53 Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. </b>A question | |
| 54 arises here because Mark (16:1) makes mention of Mary Magdalene, Mary the | |
| 55 mother of James, and Salome; and Matthew (28:1) also mentions "the other Mary." | |
| 56 According to Augustine the resolution is that Mary Magdalene was more ardent | |
| 57 and more devoted to Christ than the other women.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" | |
| 58 title="">[2]</a> | |
| 59 Thus we read that "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much" | |
| 60 (Lk 7:47). And for this reason the Evangelist mentions her by name. This is | |
| 61 also the reason why the Lord appeared to her first, "He appeared first to Mary | |
| 62 Magdalene" (Mk 16:9); "She [Wisdom] hastens to make herself known to those who | |
| 63 desire her" (Wis 6:14). | |
| 64 | |
| 65 <p>2473 Thirdly, the time is given, <b>early, while it was | |
| 66 still dark. </b>Luke (23:55) tells us that the women who had come with Christ | |
| 67 from Galilee saw his tomb and how his body was laid, and they prepared spices | |
| 68 and ointments for it. They rested on the sabbath according to the commandment. | |
| 69 As soon as the sabbath was over, on the first day of the week, before daylight, | |
| 70 she [Mary Magdalene] came to the tomb, incited by her exceedingly great love: | |
| 71 "Its flashes," the flashes of love, "are flashes of fire" (Song 8:6). | |
| 72 | |
| 73 <p>2474 The question arises why Mark says "very early, after | |
| 74 the sun had risen" [Mk 16:2], while the Evangelist says, <b>while it was still | |
| 75 dark. </b>The answer is that what Mark says should be understood as referring | |
| 76 to the breaking of the day, so that the sun had risen, but had not yet appeared | |
| 77 in the sky. | |
| 78 | |
| 79 <p>2475 Fourthly, we are told what Mary saw, she <b>saw that | |
| 80 the stone had been taken away from the tomb. </b>This was a sign that either | |
| 81 someone had taken Christ away, or that he had arisen. When Matthew (28:2) says | |
| 82 that "an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the | |
| 83 stone," we should not think the stone was rolled away before Christ arose, but | |
| 84 only after. For since Christ came forth from the closed womb of the Virgin even | |
| 85 though his body was not glorified, it is not surprising if he passed through | |
| 86 the tomb with his glorified body. The stone was taken away so that people could | |
| 87 see that Christ was not there, and more easily believe in his resurrection. | |
| 88 | |
| 89 <p>2476 Next the Evangelist mentions that this was reported. | |
| 90 Because of Mary's exceeding love she could not delay telling what she had seen | |
| 91 to the disciples, <b>so she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other | |
| 92 disciple, the one whom Jesus loved</b>:<b> </b>"This day is a day of good news; | |
| 93 if we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us" | |
| 94 (2 Kgs 7:9). And so one who hears the words of God should tell it to others | |
| 95 without delay: "Let him who hears say, 'Come'" (Rev 22:17). Mary came to those | |
| 96 who were the more important, and who loved Christ more ardently, so that they | |
| 97 might either look for Jesus with her or share her sorrow. | |
| 98 | |
| 99 <p>She said to them, <b>They have | |
| 100 taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. </b>Mary | |
| 101 saw the empty tomb, and not yet having it in her heart that Christ had risen, | |
| 102 she said, <b>and we do not know where they have laid him. </b>We can see from | |
| 103 this that Mary had not been alone at the tomb, and that she still had doubts | |
| 104 about the resurrection. So it was not without reason that the Evangelist wrote | |
| 105 that <b>it was still dark</b>,<b> </b>for this indicated the condition of their | |
| 106 minds, in which there was the darkness of doubt: "They have neither knowledge | |
| 107 nor understanding, they walk about in darkness" (Ps 82:5). Note that in the | |
| 108 Greek manuscripts it reads, <b>my Lord</b>, which shows the impetus of her love | |
| 109 and her affectionate devotion: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is | |
| 110 nothing upon earth that I desire besides you.... God is the strength of my | |
| 111 heart and my portion for ever" (Ps 73:25). | |
| 112 | |
| 113 <p>2477 The Evangelist next shows how this was investigated. | |
| 114 First, he indicates the eagerness with which Peter and John acted, for they | |
| 115 left the place where they were, <b>Peter then came out with the other disciple. | |
| 116 </b>Those who want to look into the mysteries of Christ have in a sense to come | |
| 117 out from themselves and from their carnal way of living: "Come out, O daughters | |
| 118 of Zion, and behold King Solomon" [Song 3:11]. | |
| 119 | |
| 120 <p>2478 Secondly, we see the details of their search. First, it | |
| 121 is said that they ran, <b>they both ran</b>,<b> </b>they who loved Christ more | |
| 122 than the others: "I will run in the way of your commandments" (Ps 119:32); "So | |
| 123 run that you may obtain it," the prize (1 Cor 9:25). | |
| 124 | |
| 125 <p>2479 Secondly, we see how the disciples arrived, <b>the | |
| 126 other disciple outran Peter. </b>John arrived first, and Peter followed. | |
| 127 | |
| 128 <p>2480 It is not without reason that the Evangelist is careful | |
| 129 to tell us the smallest details. For these two disciples signify two peoples, | |
| 130 the Jews [by John] and the Gentiles [by Peter]. Although the Jews were the | |
| 131 first to have knowledge of the one true God, the Gentiles were an older people, | |
| 132 because even the Jews originated from the Gentiles: "Go from your country and | |
| 133 your kindred" (Gen 12:1). These two people were both running over the course of | |
| 134 this world: the Jews using the written law, the Gentiles using the law of | |
| 135 nature. Or, they were both running by their natural desire for happiness and | |
| 136 for a knowledge of the truth, which all men desire to know by their very | |
| 137 nature. <b>But the other disciple</b>,<b> </b>that is, the younger one, <b>outran | |
| 138 Peter</b>,<b> </b>because the Gentiles came to a knowledge of the truth more | |
| 139 slowly than the Jews, since formerly God was known only in Judea. So the Psalm | |
| 140 says, "He has not dealt thus with any other nation" (Ps 147:20). | |
| 141 | |
| 142 <p>The other disciple <b>reached the | |
| 143 tomb first</b>,<b> </b>because he [John, the younger, representing the Jews] | |
| 144 was the first to look upon the mysteries of Christ, and the promise was first | |
| 145 made to the Jews: "They are the Israelites, and to them belong the ... | |
| 146 promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the | |
| 147 flesh, is the Christ" (Rom 9:4). | |
| 148 | |
| 149 <p><b>And stooping to look in, he saw | |
| 150 the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. And stooping</b>,<b> </b>under | |
| 151 the yoke of the law, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do" (Ex 24:7), <b>he | |
| 152 saw the linen cloths lying there</b>,<b> </b>that is, the figures or | |
| 153 foreshadowings of all the mysteries, "But their minds were hardened; for to | |
| 154 this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains uplifted" (2 | |
| 155 Cor 3:14). <b>But he did not go in</b>,<b> </b>for as long as he was unwilling | |
| 156 to believe in the one who was dead he had not yet come to the knowledge of the | |
| 157 truth. Another who did not go in was the brother of the prodigal son, for when | |
| 158 he heard the celebrations, the music and the dancing, he "refused to go in" (Lk | |
| 159 15:28). Nevertheless, David promised that they would enter: "I will go to the | |
| 160 altar of God" (Ps 43:4). | |
| 161 | |
| 162 <p>2481 Now the Evangelist recounts the arrival of Peter. As | |
| 163 for the literal meaning, the fact that they ran together was a sign of their | |
| 164 passionate devotion. John arrived first because he was a younger man than | |
| 165 Peter. But considering the mystical sense, Peter follows John because the | |
| 166 Gentiles who were converted to Christ were not joined to another church | |
| 167 different from the church of the Jews, but were grafted on to the already | |
| 168 existing olive tree and church. The Apostle praises them saying, "For you brethren, | |
| 169 became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea" (1 Thess 2:14). | |
| 170 | |
| 171 <p>2482 Thirdly, we see the order in which they entered, Peter | |
| 172 first, and then John. | |
| 173 | |
| 174 <p>2483 The Evangelist says that Peter entered the tomb. | |
| 175 According to the literal meaning, although John arrived first, he did not enter | |
| 176 because of his respect for Peter. But considering the mystical interpretation, | |
| 177 this signifies that the Jewish people, who were the first to hear of the | |
| 178 mysteries of the incarnation, would be converted to the faith after the | |
| 179 Gentiles: "That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness have attained it ... | |
| 180 but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based in law did not | |
| 181 succeed in fulfilling that law" (Rom 9:30). John saw only the linen cloths. He, | |
| 182 Peter, also <b>saw the linen cloths </b>because we [Gentiles] do not reject the | |
| 183 Old Testament, for as Luke says, "Then he opened their minds to understand the | |
| 184 scriptures" (Lk 24:45). But in addition Peter saw <b>the napkin which had been | |
| 185 on his head</b>:<b> </b>"The head of Christ is God" (1 Cor 11:3). Thus to see | |
| 186 the napkin which had been on the head of Jesus is to have faith in the divinity | |
| 187 of Christ, which the Jews refused to accept. This napkin is described as <b>not | |
| 188 lying with the linen cloths, and rolled up, having a place by itself</b>,<b> </b>because | |
| 189 the divinity of Christ is covered over, and it is apart from every creature | |
| 190 because of its excellence: "God who is over all be blessed for ever" (Rom 9:5); | |
| 191 "Truly, you art a God who hides yourself" (Is 45:15). He saw the napkin <b>rolled | |
| 192 up</b>,<b> </b>to form a circle. And when linen is rolled this way one can not | |
| 193 see its beginning or end, for the eminence of the divinity neither begins nor | |
| 194 ends: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8); | |
| 195 "You are the same, and your years have no end" (Ps 102:27). The napkin was in | |
| 196 one place, <b>a place by itself</b>, because God does not dwell where minds are | |
| 197 divided; those who merit his grace are those who are one in charity: "His place | |
| 198 is in peace" [Ps 76:2]; "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace" (1 Cor | |
| 199 14:33). | |
| 200 | |
| 201 <p>2484 Or, in another interpretation, the napkin, which | |
| 202 workers use to wipe the sweat off their faces can be understood to indicate the | |
| 203 labor of God. For while God always remains tranquil, he presents himself as | |
| 204 laboring and burdened when he endures the stubborn depravity of mankind: "They | |
| 205 have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them" (Is 1:14). Christ took | |
| 206 on this burden in a special way when he took on a human nature: "Let him give | |
| 207 his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults" (Lam 3:30). This napkin is | |
| 208 found separate and apart from the other cloths because the sufferings of our | |
| 209 Redeemer are far apart and separate from our sufferings. The other linen | |
| 210 cloths, which are related to the members of the body as the napkin is to the | |
| 211 head, indicate the sufferings of the saints, which are separate from the | |
| 212 napkin, that is, the sufferings of Christ, for Christ suffered without fault | |
| 213 what we suffer because of our faults: "For Christ also died ... the righteous for | |
| 214 the unrighteous" (1 Pet 3:18). He went to his death willingly ‑"No one | |
| 215 takes it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (10:18); | |
| 216 "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Eph 5:2) ‑ while the saints | |
| 217 go to their death reluctantly, "Another will gird you and carry you where you | |
| 218 do not wish to go" (21:18). | |
| 219 | |
| 220 <p>2485 Why was the Evangelist so careful to mention all these | |
| 221 details? Chrysostom says this was done to counter the false rumor spread by the | |
| 222 Jews that the body of Christ had been secretly taken away, as we see from | |
| 223 Matthew (28:13).<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> | |
| 224 For if Christ's body had been stolen away as they said, the disciples would | |
| 225 surely not have removed the wrappings, especially since they had to work fast | |
| 226 because the guards were near. Nor would they be so careful to lift off the | |
| 227 napkin and roll it up and place it in a separate place. They would simply have | |
| 228 taken the body as they found it. This was why he allowed himself to be buried | |
| 229 with myrrh and aloes: they glue the cloths to the body so that they cannot be quickly | |
| 230 removed. | |
| 231 | |
| 232 <p>2486 When the Evangelist says, <b>Then the other disciple, | |
| 233 who reached the tomb first, also went in</b>,<b> </b>he tells of John's | |
| 234 entrance. John did not remain outside but entered after Peter, because when the | |
| 235 world is ending, the Jews will also be gathered into the faith: "A hardening | |
| 236 has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in, | |
| 237 and so all Israel will be saved" (Rom 11:25); "A remnant will be saved" [Is | |
| 238 10:21]. | |
| 239 | |
| 240 <p>2487 Or, another interpretation, in the mystical sense. These | |
| 241 two disciples stand for two kinds of people: John represents those who are | |
| 242 devoted to the contemplation of truth, and Peter stands for those whose main | |
| 243 interest is to carry out the commandments. In fact, "Simon" means "obedient." | |
| 244 Now it very often happens that contemplatives, because they are docile, are the | |
| 245 first to become acquainted with a knowledge of the mysteries of Christ ‑ | |
| 246 but they do not enter, for sometimes there is knowledge, but little or no love | |
| 247 follows. While those in the active life, because of their continuing fervor and | |
| 248 earnestness, even though they are slower to understand, enter into them more | |
| 249 quickly, so that those who are later to arrive, are the first to penetrate the | |
| 250 divine mysteries: "So the last will be first, and the first last" (Mt 20:16). | |
| 251 | |
| 252 <p>2488 Next when he says, <b>he saw and believed</b>,<b> </b>we | |
| 253 see the effect of the investigation. At first glance it seems to mean that he | |
| 254 saw the situation and believed that Christ had arisen. But according to | |
| 255 Augustine this is not correct, because the next thing the Evangelist says is, <b>for | |
| 256 as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.</b><a | |
| 257 href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><b> | |
| 258 </b>Therefore, one must say that he saw the empty tomb <b>and believed </b>what | |
| 259 the woman had said, which is that someone had taken the Lord. Then we read, <b>for | |
| 260 as yet they did not know the scripture</b>,<b> </b>because the meaning of the | |
| 261 Scripture was not yet opened to them so they could understand it (Lk 24:45). | |
| 262 | |
| 263 <p>But certainly Christ had foretold | |
| 264 his passion and resurrection? "I will rise on the third day" [Mt 20:19]. I answer | |
| 265 that we should say that in keeping with the way they heard his parables, they | |
| 266 failed here also to understand many things which he had said plainly, thinking | |
| 267 that he meant something else. | |
| 268 | |
| 269 <p>2489 Or, according to Chrysostom's understanding, <b>he saw</b> | |
| 270 the linen cloths so folded and arranged which would not have been the case if | |
| 271 the body had been furtively snatched away; <b>and believed</b>, with a true | |
| 272 faith, that Christ had risen from the dead.<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" | |
| 273 title="">[5]</a> | |
| 274 What follows, <b>for as yet they did not know the scripture</b>,<b> </b>refers | |
| 275 to the statement, <b>he saw and believed</b>. It was like saying: before he saw | |
| 276 these things he did not understand the scripture <b>that he must rise from the | |
| 277 dead</b>;<b> </b>but when he saw he believed that he had risen from the dead. | |
| 278 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 279 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 2 | |
| 280 | |
| 281 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But | |
| 282 Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into | |
| 283 the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus | |
| 284 had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, "'Woman, | |
| 285 why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, | |
| 286 and I do not know where they have laid him."</B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 287 | |
| 288 <p>2490 Having told how Mary Magdalene came to the opened tomb, | |
| 289 the Evangelist now tells how she came to see the angels: first, we see her | |
| 290 devotion; secondly, she sees the angels (v 12); thirdly, we have her | |
| 291 conversation with them (v 13). Her devotion, which made her fit to see the | |
| 292 angels, is praised for three things. | |
| 293 | |
| 294 <p>2491 First, it was constant, and it deserves praise, | |
| 295 especially considering that the disciples left, <b>the disciples went back</b>,<b> | |
| 296 </b>not yet understanding the scripture "that he must rise from the dead," <b>back | |
| 297 to their homes</b>,<b> </b>where they were staying and from where they had run | |
| 298 to the tomb. Their fear was so great that they did not stay together: I will | |
| 299 strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter" [Zech 13:7]; "The holy stones | |
| 300 lie scattered at the head of every street" (Lam 4:1). Further, she stood there, | |
| 301 lingering near the tomb, <b>Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. </b>The | |
| 302 disciples had left, but a stronger and more burning affection fixed the weaker | |
| 303 sex to the spot. | |
| 304 | |
| 305 <p>2492 A question arises here, because Mark (16:5‑8) | |
| 306 says that the women "went out and fled from the tomb." Therefore, they must | |
| 307 have been within it. Why then does John say that <b>Mary stood outside</b>?<b> </b>We | |
| 308 should say to answer this that the tomb of Christ was hewn out of rock and | |
| 309 surrounded by a garden, as was stated before. Sometimes, therefore, the | |
| 310 Evangelists calls only the place where the body of Christ had been laid the tomb, | |
| 311 and at other times the entire enclosure is called the tomb. Thus when the women | |
| 312 are said to enter into the tomb [as in Mark 16:5], this should be understood to | |
| 313 mean the entire enclosure. But when it says here that <b>Mary stood outside</b>,<b> | |
| 314 </b>the Evangelist is referring to the tomb hewn out of rock. But this rock‑hewn | |
| 315 tomb was within the enclosure they had already entered. Mary was standing here | |
| 316 because of the unwavering love which had inflamed her heart "Be steadfast, | |
| 317 immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Cor 15:58); "Our feet | |
| 318 have been standing within your gates" (Ps 122:2). | |
| 319 | |
| 320 <p>2493 Secondly, Mary's devotion is admired because it issued | |
| 321 in tears, for she stood there <b>weeping</b>: "She weeps bitterly in the night" | |
| 322 (Lam 1:2). There are two kinds of tears: tears of compunction, to wash away | |
| 323 sins ‑ "Every night I flood my bed with tears" (Ps 6:7) ‑ and tears | |
| 324 of devotion, from a desire for heavenly things ‑ "He goes forth," | |
| 325 hastening towards heavenly things, "weeping, bearing the seed for sowing" (Ps | |
| 326 126:6). Mary Magdalene had copious tears of compunction at the time of her | |
| 327 conversion, when she had been the village sinner. Then, in her love for the | |
| 328 truth, she washed the stains of her sins with her tears: "Her sins, which are | |
| 329 many, are forgiven, for she loved much" (Lk 7:47). She also shed abundant tears | |
| 330 of devotion over the passion and resurrection of Christ, as we see here. | |
| 331 | |
| 332 <p>2494 Thirdly, her devotion is admired because of her earnest | |
| 333 search for Christ, <b>and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. </b>This | |
| 334 weeping of Mary came from the desire of love. For it is the nature of love to | |
| 335 want its beloved present; and if the beloved cannot be really present, it at | |
| 336 least wants to think of the beloved: "Where your treasure is, there will your | |
| 337 heart be also" (Mt 6:21). Mary shed these bitter tears because the eyes which | |
| 338 had sought her Lord and did not find him were now freed for tears, and she | |
| 339 grieved the more because he had been taken from the tomb. The life of such a | |
| 340 Teacher had been destroyed, but his memory remained. Since Mary could not have | |
| 341 him present, she wanted at least to look at the place where he had been buried, | |
| 342 so <b>she stooped </b>to look into the tomb. We learn from this that we should | |
| 343 look at the death of Christ with a humble heart: "You have hidden these things | |
| 344 from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes" (Mt 11:25). She | |
| 345 stooped <b>to look, </b>giving us the example to look continually on the death | |
| 346 of Christ with the eyes of our mind, for one look is not enough for one who | |
| 347 loves, for the force of love increases the desire to explore: "Looking to Jesus | |
| 348 the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him | |
| 349 endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb 12:2). <b>She stooped to look, </b>pressed | |
| 350 down by the love of Christ: "The love of Christ presses us" [2 Cor 5:14]. Or | |
| 351 again, according to Augustine, by a divine impulse in her soul she was made to | |
| 352 look about, and saw something greater, the angels: "For all who are led by the | |
| 353 Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rom 8:14).<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" | |
| 354 title="">[6]</a> | |
| 355 | |
| 356 <p>2495 Next the Evangelist describes the sight of the angels | |
| 357 (v 12). He mentions four things. | |
| 358 | |
| 359 <p>2496 First, what Mary saw, which was that <b>she saw two | |
| 360 angels</b>,<b> </b>which goes to show that all orders of angels, both those | |
| 361 "assisting" and those "ministering," were in service to Christ: "Let all God's | |
| 362 angels worship him" (Heb 6:1). | |
| 363 | |
| 364 <p>A question arises here because | |
| 365 Matthew (28:2) and Mark (16:5) say that Mary and the other women saw one angel | |
| 366 on the right side of the tomb, while here we have two angels and they are | |
| 367 inside. Each one is correct, for Matthew and Mark tell what occurred first, | |
| 368 when the women first came, and believing that Christ was taken, returned to the | |
| 369 disciples. But John recounts what happened after Mary returned with the | |
| 370 disciples and remained after they had left. | |
| 371 | |
| 372 <p>2497 Secondly, he mentions their raiment, <b>in white</b>. | |
| 373 This shows the splendor of the resurrection and the glory of the risen Christ: | |
| 374 "They shall walk with me in white" (Rev 3:4). Indeed, we read that the armies | |
| 375 of heaven followed him and were clothed in white, that is, raised to heavenly | |
| 376 glory (Rev 19:14). | |
| 377 | |
| 378 <p>2498 Thirdly, we see that they were <b>sitting</b>.<b> </b>This | |
| 379 indicates the calmness and power of Christ, who being now at rest from all | |
| 380 afflictions, reigns in immortal flesh and sitting at the right hand of the | |
| 381 Father: "Sit at my right hand" (Ps 110:1); he will sit "upon the throne of | |
| 382 David, and over his kingdom" (Is 9:7). | |
| 383 | |
| 384 <p>2499 Fourthly, we see how they were positioned, <b>one at | |
| 385 the head and one at the feet</b>.<b> </b>We can refer this to three things. | |
| 386 First, to the two Testaments. The word "angel" in Greek means "messenger," and | |
| 387 both Testaments brought messages about Christ: "And the crowds that went before | |
| 388 him and that followed him shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!'" (Mt 21:9). | |
| 389 So the angel sitting at the head signifies the Old Testament, and the angel at | |
| 390 the feet the New Testament. | |
| 391 | |
| 392 <p>Secondly, we can relate this to | |
| 393 those who preach Christ. There are two natures in Christ, the divine and the | |
| 394 human: the head of Christ is God (1 Cor 11:3), and the feet of Christ are his | |
| 395 human nature: "We will adore in the place where his feet stood" [Ps 132:7]. So, | |
| 396 those who preach the divinity of Christ ‑ as in "In the beginning was the | |
| 397 Word" (1:1) ‑ are sitting at the head; those who preach his humanity ‑ | |
| 398 as in "And the Word became flesh" (1:14) ‑ are sitting at the feet. | |
| 399 | |
| 400 <p>Thirdly, we can refer this to the | |
| 401 time when the mysteries of Christ are announced. Then one angel sits at the | |
| 402 head and the other at the feet because they signified that the mysteries of | |
| 403 Christ would be announced from the head or beginning of the world to its end: | |
| 404 "You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26). | |
| 405 | |
| 406 <p>2500 Next, the Evangelist gives the greeting of the angels | |
| 407 (20:13): first their question; and then Mary's answer. | |
| 408 | |
| 409 <p>2501 Concerning the first, the angels knew that Mary was | |
| 410 uncertain about the resurrection and so as if beginning anew they asked her the | |
| 411 reason for her tears: they, the angels, said to her, <b>Woman, why are you | |
| 412 weeping? </b>This was like saying: Do not cry for there is no need for it, | |
| 413 because "Weeping may tarry for the night," of the passion, "but joy comes with | |
| 414 the morning," of the resurrection (Ps 30:5); "Keep your voice from weeping, and | |
| 415 your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded" (Jer 31:16). In this | |
| 416 regard we can recall to mind that Gregory said that the very same sacred words | |
| 417 which excite our tears of love console those same tears when they promise us | |
| 418 hope in our Redeemer: "When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations | |
| 419 cheer my soul" (Ps 94:19).<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a> | |
| 420 | |
| 421 <p>2502 Mary thought that they were questioning her because of | |
| 422 their ignorance, and regarded them not as angels but as men; so she gave the | |
| 423 reason for her tears: <b>They have taken the Lord</b>, that is, the body of my | |
| 424 Lord. Here she was referring to a part by mentioning the whole, just like we | |
| 425 profess that the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God was buried, although only | |
| 426 his flesh was buried, because his divinity was never separated from his flesh. <b>And | |
| 427 I do not know where they have laid him. </b>This was the reason for her | |
| 428 desolation: she did not know where to go to find him to soothe her sorrow. | |
| 429 | |
| 430 <p>2503 Is it a consolation for one who loves to have something | |
| 431 that belonged to the beloved? According to Augustine, in his <i>Confessions, </i>this | |
| 432 would be more a cause of sorrow. For this reason he said that he fled from all | |
| 433 the places where he had formerly spent time with his friend. <a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> | |
| 434 Still, Chrysostom says that this would be a cause of consolation.<a | |
| 435 href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a> | |
| 436 Each of these is true. In all cases where there is a mixture of joy and | |
| 437 sadness, the hope for the thing desired brings pleasure ‑ "Rejoice in | |
| 438 your hope, be patient in tribulation" (Rom 12:12) ‑ and also brings | |
| 439 sorrow ‑ "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prv 13:12). But hope does | |
| 440 not cause these from the same point of view. Hope causes joy because it regards | |
| 441 the thing loved as able to be obtained; but insofar as this thing is actually | |
| 442 absent it produces sorrow. It is like that here: something belonging to a | |
| 443 friend, because it stands for the friend, is pleasant to the lover; while | |
| 444 inasmuch as it recalls the absence of the one loved it produces sadness. | |
| 445 | |
| 446 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 3 | |
| 447 | |
| 448 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>14 Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, | |
| 449 but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are | |
| 450 you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to | |
| 451 him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I | |
| 452 will take him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him | |
| 453 in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold | |
| 454 me, for I have not yet ascended to the [my] Father; but go to my brethren and | |
| 455 say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your | |
| 456 God." 18 Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; | |
| 457 and she told them that he had said these things to her.<a href="#_ftn10" | |
| 458 name="_ftnref10">[10]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 459 | |
| 460 <p>2504 Now the Evangelist shows how Mary came to see Christ: | |
| 461 first, he tells how she saw Christ; secondly, how he was recognized by her. | |
| 462 Concerning the first, we see her seeing Christ; and then what Christ said to | |
| 463 her. | |
| 464 | |
| 465 <p>2505 Firstly, then, <b>Saying this, </b>that is, when Mary | |
| 466 said this to the angels, <b>she turned round. </b>Chrysostom wonders why Mary, | |
| 467 who was speaking to the angels, whom she considered to be at least men | |
| 468 deserving of respect, turned around before they had a chance to answer her.<a | |
| 469 href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a> | |
| 470 The answer is that while Mary was responding to the angels' question Christ | |
| 471 arrived and the angels stood out of reverence. When Mary saw this, she was | |
| 472 puzzled and turned around to see what had made them stand up. Thus in Luke | |
| 473 (24:4) mention is made that the two angels were seen standing. | |
| 474 | |
| 475 <p>Having turned around, Mary <b>saw | |
| 476 Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus</b>,<b> </b>for he did | |
| 477 not appear glorious to her, although the angels saw him as glorious and were | |
| 478 honoring him. We see from this that if anyone desires to see Christ, they must | |
| 479 turn round to him: "Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to | |
| 480 you" (Zech 1:3). Those come to the point of seeing him who entirely turn | |
| 481 themselves to him by love: "She [Wisdom] hastens to make herself known to those | |
| 482 who desire her" (Wis 6:14). | |
| 483 | |
| 484 <p>Mystically, this signifies that at | |
| 485 one time Mary had turned her back to Christ by her disbelief, but when she | |
| 486 turned her soul to knowing him, she turned round to him. | |
| 487 | |
| 488 <p>2506 Why didn't Mary recognize Christ, since he was the same | |
| 489 person as before? We should say that it was either because she did not believe | |
| 490 that the one she had seen dead had risen, or else her eyes were held so that | |
| 491 she would not recognize him, like the two disciples on their way to Emmaus (Lk | |
| 492 24:16). | |
| 493 | |
| 494 <p>2507 The words of Christ are now given: <b>Woman, why are | |
| 495 you weeping? </b>First we see Christ's question; then Mary's answer. | |
| 496 | |
| 497 <p>2508 Concerning the first, note that Mary was advancing step | |
| 498 by step: for the angels asked her why she was weeping, but Christ asked her whom | |
| 499 she was looking for, for her weeping was caused by the desire which led her to | |
| 500 look. Christ asked her whom she was looking for in order to increase this | |
| 501 desire, for when she spoke of the one she was seeking, her love burned more | |
| 502 intensely, and so she would continue to seek him: "Seek his presence | |
| 503 continually" (Ps 105:4); "But the path of the righteous is like the light of | |
| 504 dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day" (Prv 4:18). | |
| 505 | |
| 506 <p>2509 When the Evangelist says, <b>Supposing him to be the | |
| 507 gardener, she said to him</b>,<b> </b>we see Mary's answer: first, whom she | |
| 508 thought was questioning her; then her response. | |
| 509 | |
| 510 <p>2510 Mary thought the gardener was speaking to her, because | |
| 511 she knew that the guards had already fled, frightened by the earthquake and the | |
| 512 sight of the angels, and that the only one who would be there would be the one | |
| 513 taking care of it, the gardener. As Gregory says: "This woman, in erring did | |
| 514 not err, when she thought that Christ was a gardener, for he planted the seeds | |
| 515 of virtue in her heart by the strength of his love."<a href="#_ftn12" | |
| 516 name="_ftnref12">[12]</a> | |
| 517 "I will water my orchard and drench my garden plot" (Sir 24:31). | |
| 518 | |
| 519 <p>2511 Mary said to Jesus, <b>Sir, if you have carried him | |
| 520 away, tell me. </b>She calls him <b>Sir </b>in order to gain his good‑will. | |
| 521 But since this "gardener" had just arrived, and Mary had not told him whom she | |
| 522 was looking for, why does she say, <b>if you have carried him away?</b> Who was | |
| 523 <b>him</b>? We should say that the force of love usually causes the lover to | |
| 524 think that no one would be ignorant of the one who is always in his thoughts. | |
| 525 For example, we read in Luke that our Lord asked [on the road to Emmaus] "What | |
| 526 is this conversation which your are holding with each other as your walk?" And | |
| 527 one of the disciples answered, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does | |
| 528 not know the things that have happened there in these days" (Lk 24:17). | |
| 529 | |
| 530 <p>2512 When Mary says, <b>tell me where you have laid him, and | |
| 531 I will take him away</b>,<b> </b>she shows a wonderful courage which would not | |
| 532 be driven off by the sight of a dead person, and she would have tried to carry | |
| 533 the body away even though it was beyond her strength. But this is what 1 | |
| 534 Corinthians (13:7) says, "Love hopes all things." She wanted to take him so the | |
| 535 Jews would not violate the dead body and to carry it to another secret grave. | |
| 536 | |
| 537 <p>2513 Next the Evangelist shows Mary recognizing Christ. The | |
| 538 Evangelist uses the name Mary, while before he had used the general word | |
| 539 "woman," (v 13;15). He calls her by her own name to show that she was well | |
| 540 known to the saints ‑ "He determines the number of the stars, he gives to | |
| 541 them their names" (Ps 147:4); "I know you by name" (Ex 33:12) ‑ and to | |
| 542 indicate that although all things are moved by God with a general motion, yet a | |
| 543 special grace is needed for a person's justification. | |
| 544 | |
| 545 <p>The effect of her being called by | |
| 546 Christ was that <b>she turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which means | |
| 547 Teacher). </b> | |
| 548 | |
| 549 <p><b> </b> | |
| 550 | |
| 551 <p>2514 Wasn't Mary always looking at Christ when he was | |
| 552 speaking to her? According to Augustine, this present turning refers to her | |
| 553 interior state of mind: before, although she was facing Christ, she thought he | |
| 554 was someone else, the gardener; but now her heart was turned and she recognized | |
| 555 him for what he was.<a href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a> | |
| 556 | |
| 557 <p>Or, one could say that, as was | |
| 558 said, she thought he was someone else, and so while she was talking to him she | |
| 559 did not look at him but was concerned with the Christ she carried in her heart, | |
| 560 and was looking about for some trace of him. | |
| 561 | |
| 562 <p>Christ called her by her own name, <b>Mary</b>: | |
| 563 This was like saying: Where are you looking? Recognize him who has recognized | |
| 564 you. As soon as she heard her name she recognized him, and said, <b>Rabboni, | |
| 565 which means Teacher</b>,<b> </b>for this was what she used to call him. We can | |
| 566 understand from this that the cause of our justification and of our profession | |
| 567 of faith is to have been called by Christ. | |
| 568 | |
| 569 <p>2515 Next, the Evangelist shows Mary receiving instructions | |
| 570 from Christ: one of them is negative, the other positive, <b>go to my brethren.</b> | |
| 571 | |
| 572 <p>2516 He does two things about the first: he states the | |
| 573 prohibition, and then gives the reason for it. Christ warns Mary not to touch | |
| 574 him, saying, <b>Do not hold me. </b>Even though we do not read here that Mary | |
| 575 wanted to touch Christ, Gregory says we can see from this that Mary fell at the | |
| 576 feet of Christ and wanted to grasp the one she had recognized.<a href="#_ftn14" | |
| 577 name="_ftnref14">[14]</a> | |
| 578 He adds the reason, <b>for I have not yet ascended to my Father. </b>It seems | |
| 579 from this that after his resurrection, Christ did not want to be touched before | |
| 580 he ascended. But the opposite is found in Luke (24:39): "Handle me, and see; | |
| 581 for a spirit has not flesh and bones." It is no answer to say that Christ wanted | |
| 582 to be touched by his disciples, but not by the women, for we see in Matthew | |
| 583 (28:9), that Mary Magdalene and other women came to him and did grasp him by | |
| 584 his feet. Therefore, we should understand, according to the letter of the text, | |
| 585 that Mary saw angels at two times: the first time was with the other women, | |
| 586 when she saw one angel sitting on the stone, as Matthew (28:2) says, and Mark | |
| 587 (16:5); the second time was when she returned and saw two angels inside the | |
| 588 tomb, as John (20:12) says. Similarly, she also saw Christ two times: first in | |
| 589 the garden, when she thought he was the gardener, as we just saw; secondly, she | |
| 590 saw him when she was running with the other women to tell the disciples what | |
| 591 they had seen (in order to strengthen them in their faith in the resurrection). | |
| 592 It was this second time that they approached and held Christ's feet, as Matthew | |
| 593 (28:9) and Mark (16:9) say. | |
| 594 | |
| 595 <p>2517 There are two mystical reasons why Christ did not want | |
| 596 to be touched. First, because this particular woman signified the Church of the | |
| 597 Gentiles, which was not to touch Christ by faith until he had ascended to the | |
| 598 Father: "A congregation of people will surround you; for their sakes return on | |
| 599 high" [Ps 7:8]. The other reason is given by Augustine in his work on <i>The | |
| 600 Trinity.</i><a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a><i> | |
| 601 </i>It is that touch is the last stage of knowledge: when we see something, we | |
| 602 know it to a certain extent, but when we touch it our knowledge is complete. | |
| 603 Now this particular woman had some faith in Christ, which was that he was a | |
| 604 holy man; and this was why she called him Teacher. But she had not yet reached | |
| 605 the point of believing that he was equal to the Father and one with God. Thus | |
| 606 Christ says, <b>Do not hold me</b>,<b> </b>that is, do not allow what you now | |
| 607 believe of me to be the limit of your faith, <b>for I have not yet ascended to | |
| 608 my Father</b>,<b> </b>that is, in your heart, because you do not believe that I | |
| 609 am one with him - yet she did believe this later. In a way Christ did ascend to | |
| 610 the Father within her when she had advanced in the faith to the point of | |
| 611 believing that he was equal to the Father. | |
| 612 | |
| 613 <p>2518 Or, we could say, with Chrysostom, that after this | |
| 614 woman saw that Christ had arisen, she thought he was in the same state as he | |
| 615 was before, having a life subject to death.<a href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" | |
| 616 title="">[16]</a> | |
| 617 She wanted to be with him as she was before his passion, and in her joy thought | |
| 618 there was nothing extraordinary about him, although Christ's flesh had become | |
| 619 much better by arising. To correct this impression Christ said, <b>Do not hold | |
| 620 me. </b>It was like saying: Do not think that I have a mortal life, and can | |
| 621 associate with you as before: "Even though we once regarded Christ from a human | |
| 622 point of view, we regard him thus no longer" (2 Cor 5:16). This is what he adds | |
| 623 when he says, <b>for I have not yet ascended to my Father. </b>Accordingly, | |
| 624 this statement does not give the reason for his prohibition, but an answer to | |
| 625 an implicit question. It was like saying: Although you see me remaining here, | |
| 626 it is not because my flesh is not glorified but because <b>I have not yet | |
| 627 ascended to my Father. </b>For before he ascended he wanted to strengthen in | |
| 628 the hearts of the apostles their faith in his resurrection and in his divinity. | |
| 629 | |
| 630 <p>2519 After this he gives his positive directions, <b>go to | |
| 631 my brethren</b>,<b> </b>that is the apostles, because they are his brethren by | |
| 632 his having the same nature: "He had to be made like his brethren in every | |
| 633 respect" (Heb 2:17); and they are his brethren by being adopted through grace, | |
| 634 because they are the adopted children of his Father, of whom he is the natural | |
| 635 Son. | |
| 636 | |
| 637 <p>Notice the three privileges given | |
| 638 to Mary Magdalene. First, she had the privilege of being a prophet because she | |
| 639 was worthy enough to see the angels, for a prophet is an intermediary between | |
| 640 angels and the people. Secondly, she had the dignity or rank of an angel | |
| 641 insofar as she looked upon Christ, on whom the angels desire to look. Thirdly, | |
| 642 she had the office of an apostle; indeed, she was an apostle to the apostles | |
| 643 insofar as it was her task to announce our Lord's resurrection to the | |
| 644 disciples. Thus, just as it was a woman who was the fist to announce the words | |
| 645 of death, so it was a woman who would be the first to announce the words of | |
| 646 life. | |
| 647 | |
| 648 <p>2520 <b>And say to them, I am ascending to my Father and | |
| 649 your Father. </b>"I go to the Father" (14:12); "He who descended is he who also | |
| 650 ascended far above all the heavens" (Eph 4:10). Arius based his error on these | |
| 651 words, <b>my Father and your Father. </b>He took it to mean that God is the | |
| 652 Father of the Son in the same way that he is our Father, and that he is the God | |
| 653 of the Son in the same way that he is our God. The answer to this is that the meaning | |
| 654 of these words must be gathered from the circumstances in which they were | |
| 655 spoken. Christ said before, <b>go to my brethren</b>.<b> </b>But Christ had | |
| 656 these brethren insofar he had a human nature, and in his human nature he is | |
| 657 subject to the Father as a creature to the Creator, for the body of Christ is | |
| 658 something created. | |
| 659 | |
| 660 <p>2521 Or, according to Augustine, Christ is speaking of | |
| 661 himself and referring to each of his natures.<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" | |
| 662 title="">[17]</a> | |
| 663 <b>I am ascending to my Father and your Father </b>refers to his divine nature, | |
| 664 and from this point of view he has as Father God, to whom he is equal and like | |
| 665 in nature. Thus, the meaning is my Father by nature, and your Father by grace. | |
| 666 It is saying in effect: the fact that you are adopted children by grace is due | |
| 667 to me: "God sent forth his Son ... so that we might receive adoption as sons" | |
| 668 (Gal 4:4); "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to | |
| 669 the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first‑born among many | |
| 670 brethren" (Rom 8:29). When he adds, <b>to my God and your God</b>, he is | |
| 671 referring to his human nature. From this point of view God rules him; thus he | |
| 672 says, <b>my God</b>, under whom I am a man. <b>And your God</b>, and between | |
| 673 him and you I am the mediator: for God is our God because through Christ we are | |
| 674 pleasing to him: "Having then been justified by faith, we have peace with God | |
| 675 through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained access by | |
| 676 faith to this grace in which we stand; and we exult in the hope of the glory of | |
| 677 the children of God" [Rom 5:1]; "God was in Christ reconciling the world to | |
| 678 himself" (2 Cor 5:19). | |
| 679 | |
| 680 <p>2522 Mary was quick to obey, as we see from <b>Mary | |
| 681 Magdalene went and said to the disciples </b>etc. "For I received from the Lord | |
| 682 what I also delivered to you" (1 Cor 11:23); "What I have heard from the Lord | |
| 683 of hosts, the God is Israel, I announce to you" (Is 21:10). | |
| 684 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 685 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 4 | |
| 686 | |
| 687 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, | |
| 688 the doors being shut where the disciples were [gathered together], for fear of | |
| 689 the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, to them, "Peace be with | |
| 690 you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the | |
| 691 disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace | |
| 692 be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 22 And when he had | |
| 693 said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 | |
| 694 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of | |
| 695 any, they are retained."<a href="#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18">[18]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 696 | |
| 697 <p>2523 Having described how Christ appeared to the holy women, | |
| 698 the Evangelist now tells of his appearance to the apostles: first, his | |
| 699 appearance at Jerusalem before all except Thomas; secondly, his appearance when | |
| 700 Thomas was present (v 26); thirdly, the events near the Sea of Tiberias (ch | |
| 701 21). Three things are done regarding the first: first, we see our Lord appear; | |
| 702 secondly, we see a duty imposed on the apostles, <b>I send you</b>; thirdly, | |
| 703 our Lord gives them a spiritual gift, <b>Receive the Holy Spirit. </b>He does | |
| 704 three things about the first: he mentions the circumstances of Christ's | |
| 705 appearance; secondly, the details of the appearance, (v 19); thirdly, the | |
| 706 result of this, <b>the disciples were glad.</b> | |
| 707 | |
| 708 <p>The Evangelist mentions four | |
| 709 circumstances in our Lord's appearance to the disciples. First, he mentions the | |
| 710 time of day, <b>on the evening; </b>secondly, what day it was, <b>of that day</b>, | |
| 711 thirdly, the condition of the place, <b>the doors being shut</b>;<b> </b>and | |
| 712 fourthly, the state of the disciples, <b>where the disciples were gathered | |
| 713 together for fear of the Jews.</b> | |
| 714 | |
| 715 <p>2524 The time of our Lord's appearance was in the evening; | |
| 716 and there were two literal reasons for this. First, he wanted to appear when | |
| 717 they were all together; consequently, he waited until evening, so that those | |
| 718 who had been at various places during the day would be found together in the | |
| 719 evening, when they gathered together. Secondly, our Lord appeared to strengthen | |
| 720 and comfort them. And so he chose a time when they would be more afraid and in | |
| 721 need of comfort and strength; this was in the evening: "God is our refuge and | |
| 722 strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps 46:1). | |
| 723 | |
| 724 <p>There is also a mystical reason: | |
| 725 for at the end of the world our Lord will appear to the faithful in the middle | |
| 726 of the night when the cry is heard that the bridegroom is coming to reward | |
| 727 them. "And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to the steward, | |
| 728 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages' (Mt 20:8). | |
| 729 | |
| 730 <p>2525 The day Christ appeared was the very day on which he | |
| 731 arose, for it was the evening <b>of that day, the first day of the week</b>, | |
| 732 Sunday. We saw this day mentioned in (20:1). | |
| 733 | |
| 734 <p>From the Gospels we can see that | |
| 735 our Lord appeared five times on that day: Once to Magdalene alone (which we | |
| 736 just considered v 14), and again to her when she was returning to the disciples | |
| 737 with the other women, when they approached and held our Lord's feet [Mt 28:9]. | |
| 738 The third time was to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13). The | |
| 739 fourth time was to Simon Peter; but how, when or where he appeared we do not | |
| 740 know, but just that he appeared: "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared | |
| 741 to Simon" (Lk 24:34). The fifth time was when he appeared to all the disciples | |
| 742 together in the evening, as John mentions here (v 19). | |
| 743 | |
| 744 <p>This is the reason why we sing: | |
| 745 "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps | |
| 746 118:24). We can also understand from these events that on the day of the | |
| 747 general resurrection Christ will appear openly to all women, sinners, pilgrims, | |
| 748 apostles and apostolic men, because "Every eye will see him, every one who | |
| 749 pierced him" (Rev 1:7). | |
| 750 | |
| 751 <p>2526 The place is described as having <b>the doors shut. </b>The | |
| 752 literal reason for this being that it was late, during the night, and also <b>for | |
| 753 fear of the Jews. </b>From Christ's point of view the doors were shut so he | |
| 754 could show them his power by entering through closed doors. | |
| 755 | |
| 756 <p>2527 Regarding this point, some say that to enter through | |
| 757 closed doors is a property of the glorified body. They say that due to some | |
| 758 inherent property in a glorified body, it can be simultaneously present in the | |
| 759 same place as another body. Thus, this is accomplished without a miracle. But | |
| 760 this position cannot stand, for the fact that a non‑glorified human body | |
| 761 cannot be simultaneously in the same place as another body is due to its very | |
| 762 nature. Consequently, if the glorified body has an inherent ability to be in a | |
| 763 place occupied at the same time by another body, it must be because it lacks | |
| 764 the property which now prevents this in the case of a non‑glorified body. | |
| 765 But this latter property cannot be separated or destroyed from a body, since it | |
| 766 is not a mathematical bulk, as they say, but the very dimensions of the | |
| 767 quantified body through which it has a local position. Thus the Philosopher, | |
| 768 when he argues against those who posit ideas and matter, asserts that even on | |
| 769 the assumption that the entire region above the earth is a vacuum, no sense‑perceptible | |
| 770 body could exist there in the same place as another body because of their | |
| 771 quantitative dimensions.<a href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19">[19]</a> | |
| 772 Now no property of a glorified body can remove the dimensions from a body and | |
| 773 have it still remain a body. Thus we should say that Christ did this | |
| 774 miraculously, by the power of his divinity, and that whenever something similar | |
| 775 happens with the saints, it is miraculous and requires a new miracle. Augustine | |
| 776 and Gregory teach this explicitly. Augustine says: "Do you want to know how | |
| 777 Christ could enter through closed doors? If you understood how, it would not be | |
| 778 a miracle. Where reason falls, faith instructs."<a href="#_ftn20" | |
| 779 name="_ftnref20">[20]</a> | |
| 780 And he adds: "He was able to enter with the doors shut, who was born without | |
| 781 his mother's virginity being taken away." <a | |
| 782 href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21">[21]</a> | |
| 783 So, just as Christ's leaving the womb of his virgin mother was a miracle of his | |
| 784 divine power, so was his entering through closed doors. | |
| 785 | |
| 786 <p>2528 In the mystical interpretation we can understand that | |
| 787 Christ appears to us when our doors, that is, our external senses, are closed | |
| 788 in prayer: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door" (Mt 6:6). | |
| 789 It is also a reminder that at the end of the world those who are prepared will | |
| 790 be admitted to the marriage feast, and then the door will be shut (Mt 25:10). | |
| 791 | |
| 792 <p>2529 We should imitate the conduct of the apostles, for they | |
| 793 are described as <b>gathered together. </b>This too is not without its mystery: | |
| 794 for Christ came when they were united together, and the Holy Spirit descended | |
| 795 on them when they were united together, because Christ and the Holy Spirit are | |
| 796 present only to those who are united in charity: "For where two or three are | |
| 797 gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20). | |
| 798 | |
| 799 <p>2530 Now three things are mentioned about the appearance of | |
| 800 Christ: the way he showed himself; the greeting he gave them; and the way he | |
| 801 gave them definite evidence of his real presence. | |
| 802 | |
| 803 <p>2531 Christ showed that he was present with them beyond any | |
| 804 doubt because <b>Jesus came and stood among them. Jesus came, </b>personally, | |
| 805 as he had promised: "I go away, and I will come to you" (14:28). And he <b>stood | |
| 806 among them</b>,<b> </b>so that each one could recognize him with certainty. | |
| 807 Thus the Jews who did not know him are blamed "Among you stands one whom you do | |
| 808 not know" (1:26). Again, Jesus <b>stood among them</b>,<b> </b>the disciples, | |
| 809 to show that he was human like them: "with a garland of brethren around him, he | |
| 810 was like a young cedar on Lebanon" (Sir 50:12). Again, he <b>stood among them</b>,<b> | |
| 811 </b>lowering himself, for he lived among them as one of them: "If they make you | |
| 812 master of the feast, do not exalt yourself; be among them as one of them" (Sir | |
| 813 32:1); "I am among you as one who serves" (Lk 22:27). Also, he wanted to show | |
| 814 that we ought to stand among the virtues: "This is the way, walk in it; do not | |
| 815 turn asde to the right or to the left" [Is 30:21]. One who goes beyond the | |
| 816 middle road of virtue goes to the right; one who falls short of the middle road | |
| 817 goes to the left. | |
| 818 | |
| 819 <p>2532 He greets them with the words, <b>Peace be with you. </b>It | |
| 820 was necessary to say this because their peace was disturbed in many ways. Their | |
| 821 peace with God was troubled; they had sinned against him, some by denying him, | |
| 822 others by running away: "You will all fall away because of me this night; for | |
| 823 it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be | |
| 824 scattered'" (Mt 26:31). To cure this Jesus offers them the peace of | |
| 825 reconciliation with God: "We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" | |
| 826 (Rom 5:10), which he accomplished by his suffering. Their peace with themselves | |
| 827 was disturbed because they were depressed and hesitant in their faith. And he | |
| 828 offers his peace to cure this: "Great peace have those who love your law" (Ps | |
| 829 119:165). Their peace with others was disturbed because they were being | |
| 830 persecuted by the Jews. And to this he says, <b>Peace be with you</b>,<b> </b>to | |
| 831 counter the persecution of the Jews: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give | |
| 832 to you" (14:27). | |
| 833 | |
| 834 <p>2533 Jesus gives them sure proof that it is really himself | |
| 835 by showing them his hands and side. <b>When he had said this, he showed them | |
| 836 his hands and his side, </b>because in them the marks of his passion remained | |
| 837 in a special way: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself" (Lk 24:39). | |
| 838 And when in glory he will show himself in the same way: "If a man loves me, he | |
| 839 will keep my word" (14:23), "and I will manifest myself to him" (14:21). | |
| 840 | |
| 841 <p>2534 Now the effect of his appearance is mentioned: this was | |
| 842 the joy in the hearts of the disciples when they saw the Lord, as he had | |
| 843 promised: "I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice" (16:22). This | |
| 844 joy will be complete for the good in their native land, when they have the | |
| 845 clear vision of God: "You shall see and your heart shall rejoice; and your | |
| 846 bones shall flourish like the grass" (Is 66:14). | |
| 847 | |
| 848 <p>2535 Now he charges the apostles with their ministry: first, | |
| 849 he grants them the bond of peace; secondly, he charges them, <b>as the Father | |
| 850 has sent me.</b> | |
| 851 | |
| 852 <p>2536 Jesus said to them again, <b>Peace be with you</b>. He | |
| 853 said this to counter a twofold anxiety. The first time he said, <b>Peace be | |
| 854 with you</b>,<b> </b>was to combat the anxiety caused by the Jews; but when he | |
| 855 said the second time, <b>Peace be with you</b>,<b> </b>this was to deal with | |
| 856 the anxiety to come from the Gentiles: "In me you may have peace ... in the | |
| 857 world you have tribulation" (16:33). He said this because they were about to be | |
| 858 sent to the Gentiles. | |
| 859 | |
| 860 <p>2537 Accordingly, Jesus immediately enjoins them, <b>As the | |
| 861 Father has sent me, even so I send you. </b>This shows that he is the | |
| 862 intermediary between us and God: "There is one mediator between God and men, | |
| 863 the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5). This was a source of strength for the | |
| 864 disciples: for they recognized the authority of Christ, and knew that he was | |
| 865 sending them by divine authority. They were also strengthened because they | |
| 866 recognized their own dignity, the dignity of being apostles; for an apostle is one | |
| 867 who is sent. <b>As the Father has sent me, even so I send you</b>:<b> </b>that | |
| 868 is, as the Father, who loves me, sent me into the world to suffer for the | |
| 869 salvation of the faithful ‑ "For God sent the Son into the world, not to | |
| 870 condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (3:17) ‑ | |
| 871 so I, who love you, send you to undergo suffering for my name ‑ "I send | |
| 872 you out as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Mt 10:16). | |
| 873 | |
| 874 <p>2538 Jesus makes them adequate for their task by giving them | |
| 875 the Holy Spirit, "God, who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, | |
| 876 not in a written code but in the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:6). In this giving of the | |
| 877 Spirit, he first grants them a sign of this gift, which is, that <b>he breathed | |
| 878 on them. </b>We see something like this in Genesis (2:7), when God "breathed | |
| 879 into his nostrils the breath of life," of natural life, which the first man | |
| 880 corrupted, but Christ repaired this by giving the Holy Spirit. We should not | |
| 881 suppose that this breath of Christ was the Holy Spirit; it was a sign of the | |
| 882 Spirit. So Augustine says, in <i>The Trinity</i>: "This bodily breath was not | |
| 883 the substance of the Holy Spirit, but a fitting sign that the Holy Spirit | |
| 884 proceeds not just from the Father but also from the Son."<a href="#_ftn22" | |
| 885 name="_ftnref22">[22]</a> | |
| 886 | |
| 887 <p>2539 Notice that the Holy Spirit was sent over Christ, | |
| 888 first, in the appearance of a dove, at his baptism (1:32), and then in the | |
| 889 appearance of a cloud, at his transfiguration (Mt 17:5). The reason for this is | |
| 890 that the grace of Christ, which is given by the Holy Spirit, was to be | |
| 891 distributed to us by being proliferated through the sacraments. Consequently, | |
| 892 at Christ's baptism the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, which is | |
| 893 an animal known for its proliferation. And since the grace of Christ comes | |
| 894 through teaching, the Spirit descended in a luminous cloud, and Christ is seen | |
| 895 to be a Teacher, "Listen to him" (Mt 17:5). The Spirit descended over the | |
| 896 apostles the first time through a breath to indicate the proliferation of grace | |
| 897 through the sacraments, whose ministers they were. Thus Christ said, <b>"If you | |
| 898 forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven</b>:<b> </b>"Go therefore and make | |
| 899 disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the | |
| 900 Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19). The second time the Spirit descended on | |
| 901 them in tongues of fire to indicate the proliferation of grace through | |
| 902 teaching; and so we read in Acts (2:4) that right after they were filled with | |
| 903 the Holy Spirit they began to speak. | |
| 904 | |
| 905 <p>2540 We see the words used when the Spirit was given, <b>Receive | |
| 906 the Holy Spirit. </b>But did they receive the Holy Spirit then? It seems not, | |
| 907 for since Christ had not yet ascended, it was not fitting that he give gifts to | |
| 908 us. Indeed, according to Chrysostom, there were some who said that Christ did | |
| 909 not give them the Holy Spirit at that time, but prepared them for the future | |
| 910 giving of the Spirit at Pentecost.<a href="#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23">[23]</a> | |
| 911 They were brought to this opinion because Daniel (10:8) could not endure his | |
| 912 sight of an angel, and so these disciples could not have endured the coming of | |
| 913 the Holy Spirit unless they had been prepared. But Chrysostom himself says that | |
| 914 the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, not for all tasks in general, but | |
| 915 for a specific task, that is, to forgive sin. Augustine and Gregory say that | |
| 916 the Holy Spirit has two precepts of love: love of God and of neighbor.<a | |
| 917 href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24">[24]</a> | |
| 918 Therefore, the Holy Spirit was given the first time on earth to indicate the | |
| 919 precept of the love of neighbor; and the Spirit was given the second time from | |
| 920 heaven to indicate the precept of the love of God. | |
| 921 | |
| 922 <p>2541 Thirdly, we see the fruit of the gift, If you forgive | |
| 923 the sins of any, they are forgiven. This forgiving of sins is a fitting effect | |
| 924 of the Holy Spirit. This is so because the Holy Spirit is charity, love, and | |
| 925 through the Holy Spirit love is given to us: "God's love has been poured into | |
| 926 our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). Now | |
| 927 it is only through love that sins are forgiven, for "Love covers all offenses" | |
| 928 (Prv 10:12); "Love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pet 4:8). | |
| 929 | |
| 930 <p>2542 We can ask here why we read, <b>If you forgive the sins | |
| 931 of any</b>,<b> </b>for only God forgives sins? Some say that only God forgives | |
| 932 the sin, while the priest absolves only from the debt of punishment, and | |
| 933 pronounces the person free from the stain of sin. This is not true: for the | |
| 934 sacrament of Penance, since it is a sacrament of the New Law, gives grace, as | |
| 935 does Baptism. Now in the sacrament of Baptism, the priest baptizes as an | |
| 936 instrument, and yet he confers grace. It is similar in the sacrament of | |
| 937 Penance, the priest absolves from the sin and the punishment as a minister and | |
| 938 sacramentally, insofar as he administers the sacrament in which sins are | |
| 939 forgiven. The statement that God alone forgives sins authoritatively is true. | |
| 940 So also, only God baptizes, but the priest is the minister, as was said. | |
| 941 | |
| 942 <p>2543 Another question arises from the statements, <b>Receive | |
| 943 the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. </b>It | |
| 944 seems from this that one who does not have the Holy Spirit cannot forgive sins. | |
| 945 We should say about this that if the forgiveness of sins was the personal work | |
| 946 of the priest, that is, that he did this by his own power, he could not | |
| 947 sanctify anyone unless he himself were holy. But the forgiveness of sins is the | |
| 948 personal work of God, who forgives sins by his own power and authority. The | |
| 949 priest is only the instrument. Therefore, just as a master, through his servant | |
| 950 and minister, whether good or bad, can accomplish what he wills, so our Lord, | |
| 951 through his ministers, even if they are evil, can confer the sacraments, in | |
| 952 which grace is given. | |
| 953 | |
| 954 <p>2544 Again, there is a question about, <b>If you forgive the | |
| 955 sins of any, they are forgiven. </b>We should say, as we already did, that in | |
| 956 the sacraments the priest acts as a minister: "This is how one should regard | |
| 957 us, as servants [ministers] of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 | |
| 958 Cor 4:1). Thus, in the same way that God forgives and retains sins, so also | |
| 959 does the priest. Now God forgives sins by giving grace, and he is said to | |
| 960 retain by not giving grace because of some obstacle in the one who is to | |
| 961 receive it. So also the minister forgives sins, insofar as he dispenses a | |
| 962 sacrament of the Church, and he retains insofar as he accounts someone unworthy | |
| 963 to receive the sacrament. | |
| 964 | |
| 965 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 5 | |
| 966 | |
| 967 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin | |
| 968 [Didymus], was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told | |
| 969 him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands | |
| 970 the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place | |
| 971 my hand in his side, I will not believe."<a href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" | |
| 972 title=""><b>[25]</b></a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 973 | |
| 974 <p>2545 After describing our Savior's appearance, the | |
| 975 Evangelist now mentions the doubt of one of the disciples. First, we see that | |
| 976 this disciple was absent; secondly, he is told about our Lord's appearance; and | |
| 977 thirdly, we see his stubborn doubt. | |
| 978 | |
| 979 <p>2546 The disciple who was absent is first identified by his | |
| 980 name, <b>Thomas</b>,<b> </b>which means a "twin" or an "abyss." An abyss has | |
| 981 both depth and darkness. And Thomas was an abyss on account of the darkness of | |
| 982 his disbelief, of which he was the cause. Again, there is an abyss ‑ the | |
| 983 depths of Christ's compassion - which he had for Thomas. We read: "Abyss calls | |
| 984 to abyss" [Ps 42:7]. That is, the depths of Christ's compassion calls to the | |
| 985 depths of darkness [of disbelief] in Thomas, and Thomas' abyss of unwillingness | |
| 986 [to believe] calls out, when he professes the faith, to the depths of Christ. | |
| 987 | |
| 988 <p>Secondly, the dignity of the | |
| 989 disciple is mentioned, for he was <b>one of the twelve. </b>There were not | |
| 990 actually twelve at that time, for Judas had died (Mt 25:5), but he was called | |
| 991 one of the twelve because he had been called to that elevated rank which our | |
| 992 Lord had set apart as twelve in number: "He called his disciples, and chose | |
| 993 from them twelve, whom he named apostles" (Lk 6:13). And God wanted this number | |
| 994 to always remain unchanged. | |
| 995 | |
| 996 <p>Thirdly, he is described by the | |
| 997 meaning of his name, <b>Thomas, called Didymus. </b>Thomas is a Syrian or a | |
| 998 Hebrew name and has two meanings: twin and abyss. The English word "twin" is | |
| 999 "Didymus" in Greek. Because John wrote his Gospel in Greek, he used the word | |
| 1000 Didymus. Perhaps he was called the Twin because he was from the tribe of | |
| 1001 Benjamin, in which some or all were twins. Or, this name could be taken from | |
| 1002 his doubting, for one who is certain holds firmly to one side, but one who | |
| 1003 doubts accepts one opinion but fears another might be true. | |
| 1004 | |
| 1005 <p>2547 <b>Thomas ... was not with them</b>,<b> </b>the | |
| 1006 disciples, <b>when Jesus came</b>, for he returned later than the others who | |
| 1007 had scattered during the day, and so he had missed the comfort of seeing the | |
| 1008 Lord, the conferring of peace and the breath giving the Holy Spirit. This | |
| 1009 teaches us not to become separated from one's companions, "not neglecting to | |
| 1010 meet together, as is the habit of some" (Heb 10:25). As Gregory says, it was | |
| 1011 not by accident that this chosen disciple was missing, but by God's will.<a | |
| 1012 href="#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26">[26]</a> | |
| 1013 It was in the plans of the divine pity that by feeling the wounds in the flesh | |
| 1014 of his Teacher, the doubting disciple should heal in us the wounds of | |
| 1015 disbelief. | |
| 1016 | |
| 1017 <p>Here we have the strongest signs of | |
| 1018 God's profound pity. First, in this: that he loves the human race so much that | |
| 1019 he sometimes allows tribulations to afflict his elect, so that from these some | |
| 1020 good can accrue to the human race. This was the reason he allowed the apostles, | |
| 1021 the prophets and the holy martyrs to be afflicted: "Therefore I have hewn them | |
| 1022 by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth" (Hos 6:5); "If we | |
| 1023 are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted it | |
| 1024 is for your comfort which you experience when you patiently endure the same | |
| 1025 sufferings that we suffer" (2 Cor 1:6). Even more remarkable is that God allows | |
| 1026 some saint to fall into sin in order to teach us. Why did God allow some saints | |
| 1027 and holy men to sin gravely (as David did by adultery and murder) if not to | |
| 1028 teach us to be more careful and humble? It is so that one who thinks he is | |
| 1029 standing firm will take care not to fall, and so that one who has fallen will | |
| 1030 make the effort to rise. Thus, Ambrose said to the Emperor Theodosius: "The one | |
| 1031 you followed by sinning, try now to follow by repenting."<a href="#_ftn27" | |
| 1032 name="_ftnref27">[27]</a> | |
| 1033 And Gregory says that the disbelief of Thomas was of more benefit to our faith | |
| 1034 than the faith of the disciples who did believe.<a href="#_ftn28" | |
| 1035 name="_ftnref28">[28]</a> | |
| 1036 | |
| 1037 <p>2548 Thomas is told about our Lord's appearance. Because he | |
| 1038 had not been with the others, <b>the other disciples told him, We have seen the | |
| 1039 Lord. </b>This was by the divine plan, which is that what one receives from God | |
| 1040 should be shared with others: "As each has received a gift, employ it for one | |
| 1041 another" (1 Pet 4:10); "I have seen the Lord, and I have been saved" [Gen | |
| 1042 32:30]. | |
| 1043 | |
| 1044 <p>2549 When Thomas said, <b>Unless I see the print of the | |
| 1045 nails.... </b>we see how stubborn he was in doubting. It would have been | |
| 1046 justifiable if he had not immediately believed, for we read, "One who trusts | |
| 1047 others too quickly is light‑minded" (Sir 19:4). But to overdo one's | |
| 1048 search, especially about the secrets of God, shows a coarseness of mind: "As it | |
| 1049 is not good to eat much honey, so one who searches into the majesty [of God] is | |
| 1050 overwhelmed by its glory" [Prv 25:27]; "Seek not what is too difficult for you, | |
| 1051 nor investigate what is beyond your power. Reflect upon what has been assigned | |
| 1052 to you, for you do not need what is hidden" (Sir 3:22). | |
| 1053 | |
| 1054 <p>2550 Thomas was difficult to convince and unreasonable in | |
| 1055 his demands. He was difficult because he refused to believe without some | |
| 1056 sensible facts, not just from one sense but from two, sight<b> ‑ unless I | |
| 1057 see in his hands the print of the nails </b>‑ and touch ‑ <b>and | |
| 1058 place my hand in his side. </b>He was unreasonable because he insisted on | |
| 1059 seeing the wounds before believing, although he would be seeing something | |
| 1060 greater, that is, the entire person risen and restored. And although Thomas | |
| 1061 said these things because of his own doubts, this was arranged by God for our | |
| 1062 benefit and progress. It is certain that Christ, who arose as a complete | |
| 1063 person, could have healed the marks of his wounds; but he kept them for our | |
| 1064 benefit. | |
| 1065 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 1066 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 6 | |
| 1067 | |
| 1068 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the | |
| 1069 house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood | |
| 1070 among them, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your | |
| 1071 finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; | |
| 1072 do not be faithless, but believing." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my | |
| 1073 God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? | |
| 1074 [Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed.] Blessed are those who | |
| 1075 have not seen and yet believe [have believed]." 30 Now Jesus did many other | |
| 1076 signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 | |
| 1077 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of | |
| 1078 God, and that believing you may have life in his name.<a href="#_ftn29" | |
| 1079 name="_ftnref29">[29]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 1080 | |
| 1081 <p>2551 Now the Evangelist presents our Lord's second | |
| 1082 appearance. It was to all the disciples, including Thomas. First, he mentions | |
| 1083 Christ appearing; secondly, we see that Thomas is now convinced; thirdly, the | |
| 1084 Evangelist comments on what he has included in his gospel (30). He does three | |
| 1085 things about the first: the time of Christ's appearance is mentioned; then to | |
| 1086 whom he appeared; and thirdly, the way he came (v 26). | |
| 1087 | |
| 1088 <p>2552 The time was <b>eight days later</b>,<b> </b>that is, | |
| 1089 from the day of our Lord's resurrection, on the evening of which he first | |
| 1090 appeared. One literal reason for mentioning the time was so that the Evangelist | |
| 1091 could show that although Christ had appeared frequently to the disciples, he | |
| 1092 did not remain with them continually, since he had not arisen to the same kind | |
| 1093 of life, just as we will not rise to the same kind of life: "All the days of my | |
| 1094 service I would wait, till my release should come" [Job 14:14]. A reason for | |
| 1095 the delay was so that Thomas, hearing about our Lord's first appearance from | |
| 1096 the disciples, would develop a stronger desire and become more disposed to | |
| 1097 believe. A mystical reason for our Lord's appearance after eight days is that | |
| 1098 this indicates how he will appear to us in glory [as immortal, etc.]: "When he | |
| 1099 appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn 3:2). He | |
| 1100 will appear to us in the eighth age, which is the age of those who have risen | |
| 1101 from the dead. | |
| 1102 | |
| 1103 <p>2553 The Evangelist shows to whom he appeared when he says, <b>his | |
| 1104 disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. </b>We should note | |
| 1105 that Thomas was the only one who needed this appearance of Christ, but even so | |
| 1106 our Lord did not appear to him alone, but to the group. This shows that it is | |
| 1107 not very pleasing to God to exist in isolation, but it is to live in a unity of | |
| 1108 charity with others: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am | |
| 1109 I in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20). Those to whom Christ appears [in this life] | |
| 1110 are not all gathered into one group, and this present assembly of the disciples | |
| 1111 did not include every such one. But in the future all will be gathered | |
| 1112 together, and no one absent: "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be | |
| 1113 gathered together" (Mt 24:28); "He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet | |
| 1114 call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of | |
| 1115 heaven to the other" (Mt 24:31). | |
| 1116 | |
| 1117 <p>2554 He shows the way Christ appeared by saying, <b>The | |
| 1118 doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, Peace be with | |
| 1119 you. </b>This was explained before. The Evangelist notes three things here. | |
| 1120 First, how Christ came, <b>the doors were shut. </b>As Augustine says, this was | |
| 1121 done miraculously, by the same power which enabled him to walk on the water.<a | |
| 1122 href="#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30">[30]</a> | |
| 1123 Secondly, where he stood, <b>among them</b>,<b> </b>so he could be seen by all, | |
| 1124 as was fitting. Thirdly, we see what he said, <b>Peace be with you</b>,<b> </b>that | |
| 1125 is, the peace coming from reconciliation, reconciliation with God, which Jesus | |
| 1126 said had now been accomplished: "We were reconciled to God by the death of his | |
| 1127 Son" (Rom 5:10); "making peace by the blood of his cross" (Col 1:20). Jesus | |
| 1128 also announced to them the future peace of eternity and immortality, which he | |
| 1129 had promised them: "He makes peace in your borders" (Ps 147:14); and also the | |
| 1130 peace of charity and unity, which he commanded them to maintain: "Be at peace | |
| 1131 with one another" (Mk 9:49). | |
| 1132 | |
| 1133 <p>2555 Now the Evangelist shows how the doubting disciple was | |
| 1134 rescued and persuaded. Here we see a second sign of God's pity, which is that | |
| 1135 he quickly comes to help his elect even though they fall. Indeed, the elect | |
| 1136 fall at times, just like the reprobate. But there is a difference: the | |
| 1137 reprobate are crushed, but the Lord quickly puts his hand under the elect so | |
| 1138 they can rise up: "When a just person falls he will not be crushed, for the | |
| 1139 Lord will put his hand under him" [Ps 37:27]; "When I thought, 'My foot slips,' | |
| 1140 your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up" (Ps 94:18). And so our Lord quickly | |
| 1141 puts his hand under the fallen Thomas so that when Thomas said, <b>Unless I see | |
| 1142 ... I will not believe</b>,<b> </b>our Lord rescues him, saying, <b>Put your | |
| 1143 finger here</b>. Three things are mentioned here: first, our Lord shows his | |
| 1144 wounds; secondly, we see Thomas' profession; and thirdly, his slowness to | |
| 1145 believe is reproved. | |
| 1146 | |
| 1147 <p>2556 Regarding the first, note that Thomas laid down his own | |
| 1148 conditions for believing, which were that he see and feel Christ's wounds, as | |
| 1149 was said. If these conditions were met, he promised to believe. So our Lord, | |
| 1150 helping him by the presence of his divinity, rescued him by meeting these | |
| 1151 conditions. First, we see the conditions being met; secondly Thomas is asked to | |
| 1152 keep his promise (v 27). | |
| 1153 | |
| 1154 <p>2557 One condition was that he feel the wounds, so Christ | |
| 1155 said, <b>Put your finger here. </b>A problem arises here because there can be | |
| 1156 no defects in a glorified body, and wounds are defects. How then can there be | |
| 1157 wounds in the body of Christ? Augustine answers this in this book, <i>On the | |
| 1158 Creed</i>, when he says: "Christ could have removed all traces of his wounds from | |
| 1159 his risen and glorified body, but he had reasons for retaining them. First, to | |
| 1160 show them to Thomas, who would not believe unless he touched and saw. Again, he | |
| 1161 will use them to rebuke unbelievers and sinners at the judgment. He will not | |
| 1162 say to them, as he did to Thomas, 'Because you have seen me, you have | |
| 1163 believed,' but rather, to convict them, 'Behold the man you have crucified, the | |
| 1164 wounds you have inflicted. Look at the side you have pierced. It was opened for | |
| 1165 your sake, and you refused to enter.'"<a href="#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31" | |
| 1166 title="">[31]</a> | |
| 1167 | |
| 1168 <p>2558 Another question on this point is whether or not the | |
| 1169 traces of the martyrs' wounds will remain on their bodies. Augustine, in his <i>The | |
| 1170 City of God </i>(22), answers this in a similar manner, saying they will | |
| 1171 remain, not as a disfigurement but like a great ornamental beauty. He says | |
| 1172 "These wounds in their body will not be a deformity, but a dignity. And | |
| 1173 although on their bodies, they will radiate not a bodily but a spiritual | |
| 1174 beauty. Of course, the martyrs who suffered amputation or decapitation will not | |
| 1175 appear in the resurrection without their hands and members ‑ for they too | |
| 1176 have been told that not a hair of their head would perish. Indeed, even though | |
| 1177 their members were mutilated or cut off, they will be restored, yet the traces | |
| 1178 of their wounds will remain."<a href="#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32">[32]</a> | |
| 1179 | |
| 1180 <p>2559 Gregory asks how the Lord could offer his body to be | |
| 1181 touched because it was incorruptible, for what is incorruptible cannot be | |
| 1182 touched.<a href="#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33">[33]</a> | |
| 1183 "Christ being raised from the dead will never die again" (Rom 6:9). The | |
| 1184 heretic, Eutyches, was influenced by this to say that the body of Christ and | |
| 1185 the bodies of all those who rise will not be touchable, but fine and spiritual, | |
| 1186 like the wind or a breath. But since this is contrary to what our Lord said - | |
| 1187 "Handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I | |
| 1188 have" (Lk 24:39) ‑ our Lord showed that he was incorruptible and | |
| 1189 touchable to demonstrate that his body after his resurrection was of the same | |
| 1190 nature as before, and what had been corruptible had now put on incorruption (1 | |
| 1191 Cor 15:53). It was the same in nature, but with a different glory: for what had | |
| 1192 been heavy and lowly arose in glory and subtlety, as the effect of spiritual | |
| 1193 power. | |
| 1194 | |
| 1195 <p>2560 Our Lord continued, saying, <b>see my hands</b>, which | |
| 1196 hung on the cross, <b>and put out your hand, and place it in my side</b>,<b> </b>which | |
| 1197 was pierced by the spear, and realize that I am the same person who had hung | |
| 1198 upon the cross. As for the mystical interpretation, a finger signifies | |
| 1199 knowledge, and a hand signifies our works. Thus when Thomas is told to put his | |
| 1200 finger and hand into the wounds of Christ, we are being told to use our | |
| 1201 knowledge and works for the service of Christ: "But far be it from me to glory | |
| 1202 except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6:14). | |
| 1203 | |
| 1204 <p>2561 Our Lord holds Thomas to his promise saying, <b>do not | |
| 1205 be faithless, but believing</b>:<b> </b>"Be faithful unto death" (Rev 2:10). | |
| 1206 | |
| 1207 <p>2562 The Evangelist now mentions Thomas' profession. It | |
| 1208 seems that Thomas quickly became a good theologian by professing a true faith. | |
| 1209 He professed the humanity of Christ when he said, <b>My Lord</b>, for he had | |
| 1210 called Christ this before the passion: "You call me Teacher and Lord" (Jn | |
| 1211 13:13). And he professed the divinity of Christ when he said, <b>and my God</b>. | |
| 1212 Before this, the only one who had called Christ God was Peter: "You are the | |
| 1213 Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16); "This is the true God and | |
| 1214 eternal life" (1 Jn 5:20). | |
| 1215 | |
| 1216 <p>2563 Our Lord reproaches Thomas for being slow to believe, <b>because | |
| 1217 you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed</b>;<b> </b>and then he praises the | |
| 1218 others for being quick to believe. | |
| 1219 | |
| 1220 <p>2564 <b>Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed</b>. | |
| 1221 There is a problem here: for since faith is the substance of the things we hope | |
| 1222 for, the conviction about things that are not seen (Heb 11:1), why does our | |
| 1223 Lord say, <b>because you have seen me you have believed</b>? We should say in | |
| 1224 answer that Thomas saw one thing and believed another. He saw the man and the | |
| 1225 wounds, and from these he believed in the divinity of the one who had arisen. | |
| 1226 | |
| 1227 <p>2565 There is a second question. Because Thomas said that he | |
| 1228 would not believe unless he saw and touched, and our Lord was willing for him | |
| 1229 to see and touch, it seems our Lord should have replied, "because you have seen | |
| 1230 and touched me you have believed." One can say, with Augustine, that we use the | |
| 1231 sense of sight for any of the senses.<a href="#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34">[34]</a> | |
| 1232 We say, "See how warm it is"; "See how it sounds"; "See how it tastes and | |
| 1233 smells." So our Lord said, <b>Put your finger here, and see</b>, not because | |
| 1234 the finger can see, but as meaning, "Touch and perceive." So Christ says here,<b> | |
| 1235 because you have seen me</b>, that is, because you have perceived through | |
| 1236 touch. Or, one could say that Thomas became flustered when he saw Christ's | |
| 1237 wounds and scars, and before he touched Christ with his finger he believed and | |
| 1238 said, <b>My Lord and my God. </b>For Gregory, Thomas did touch Christ, but did | |
| 1239 not profess his faith until he saw [the wounds].<a href="#_ftn35" | |
| 1240 name="_ftnref35">[35]</a> | |
| 1241 | |
| 1242 <p>2566 When Christ said, <b>Blessed are those who have not | |
| 1243 seen and yet have believed</b>,<b> </b>he was praising the readiness of others | |
| 1244 to believe; and this applies especially to us. He says, "have believed" rather | |
| 1245 than "shall believe" because of the certitude [of his knowledge]. | |
| 1246 | |
| 1247 <p>Luke seems to say the contrary: | |
| 1248 "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see" (Lk 10:23). Thus, those who have | |
| 1249 seen are more blessed that those who have not seen. I answer that blessedness | |
| 1250 is of two kinds. One is the actual state of blessedness, which consists in | |
| 1251 God's reward, where the better one sees the happier, the more blessed, he is. | |
| 1252 In this respect, the eyes that see are blessed, because this is the reward of | |
| 1253 grace. The other blessedness is the hoped‑for blessedness, which is based | |
| 1254 on one's merits. And in this case the more one can merit the more blessed he | |
| 1255 is. And, the one who believes and does not see, merits more than one who | |
| 1256 believes when he sees. | |
| 1257 | |
| 1258 <p>2567 Now the Evangelist gives his epilogue: first he | |
| 1259 mentions the incompleteness of his gospel; secondly, the benefits it will give | |
| 1260 (v 31). Its incompleteness is clear, for <b>Jesus did many other signs in the | |
| 1261 presence of the disciples</b>, "Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways; | |
| 1262 and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can | |
| 1263 understand?" (Job 26:14); "Many things greater than these lie hidden, for we | |
| 1264 have seen but few of his works" (Si 43:32). According to Chrysostom, John said | |
| 1265 this because he mentioned fewer miracles than the other evangelists and he did | |
| 1266 not want it to be thought that he was denying these other miracles, and so he | |
| 1267 especially added, <b>which are not written in this book.</b><a href="#_ftn36" | |
| 1268 name="_ftnref36">[36]</a><b> | |
| 1269 </b>Or, John could be referring to the passion and resurrection of Christ, | |
| 1270 meaning that after his resurrection Christ gave many indications of his | |
| 1271 resurrection "in the presence of the disciples" that were not shown to others: | |
| 1272 "God ... made him manifest; not to all the people but to us who were chosen by | |
| 1273 God as witnesses," (Acts 10:40). | |
| 1274 | |
| 1275 <p>2568 Now he mentions the benefits given by this gospel. It | |
| 1276 is useful for producing faith: <b>these are written that you may believe that | |
| 1277 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God</b>. Indeed, all Scripture, both the Old | |
| 1278 and New Testaments, are for this purpose: "The beginning of the book writes | |
| 1279 about me" [Ps 40:7]; "Search the scriptures ... it is they that bear witness to | |
| 1280 me" (5:39). Another benefit of his gospel is that it also produces the fruit of | |
| 1281 life, <b>and that believing you may have life</b>: the life of righteousness, | |
| 1282 which is given by faith ‑ "The righteous shall live by his faith" (Hab | |
| 1283 2:4) ‑ and in the future, the life of vision, which is given by glory. | |
| 1284 This life is in his name, the name of Christ: "There is no other name under | |
| 1285 heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). | |
| 1286 | |
| 1287 </div> | |
| 1288 | |
| 1289 <div><br clear=all> | |
| 1290 | |
| 1291 <hr align=left size=1 width="33%"> | |
| 1292 | |
| 1293 <div id=ftn1> | |
| 1294 | |
| 1295 <p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> | |
| 1296 St. Thomas refers to Jn 20:1 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1297 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 51, a. 4, ad 2; q. 53, a. 2, obj. 3; q. 83, a. 2, ad 4. | |
| 1298 | |
| 1299 </div> | |
| 1300 | |
| 1301 <div id=ftn2> | |
| 1302 | |
| 1303 <p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> <i>De consensus evangelistarum</i>, 3, ch. 24; PL 34; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 20:1-9. | |
| 1304 | |
| 1305 </div> | |
| 1306 | |
| 1307 <div id=ftn3> | |
| 1308 | |
| 1309 <p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 85, ch. | |
| 1310 5; PG 59, col 466; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 20:1-9. | |
| 1311 | |
| 1312 </div> | |
| 1313 | |
| 1314 <div id=ftn4> | |
| 1315 | |
| 1316 <p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1317 in Io</i>., 120, ch. 9, col. 1955; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1318 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:1-9. | |
| 1319 | |
| 1320 </div> | |
| 1321 | |
| 1322 <div id=ftn5> | |
| 1323 | |
| 1324 <p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 85, ch. 5; PG 59, col 466. | |
| 1325 | |
| 1326 </div> | |
| 1327 | |
| 1328 <div id=ftn6> | |
| 1329 | |
| 1330 <p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1331 in Io</i>., 121, ch. 1, col. 1956; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1332 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:10-18. | |
| 1333 | |
| 1334 </div> | |
| 1335 | |
| 1336 <div id=ftn7> | |
| 1337 | |
| 1338 <p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> <i>XL | |
| 1339 homiliae in Evangelista</i>, fin; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1340 Aurea,</i> 20:10-18. | |
| 1341 | |
| 1342 </div> | |
| 1343 | |
| 1344 <div id=ftn8> | |
| 1345 | |
| 1346 <p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> | |
| 1347 Augustine, <i>Confessions</i>. | |
| 1348 | |
| 1349 </div> | |
| 1350 | |
| 1351 <div id=ftn9> | |
| 1352 | |
| 1353 <p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 86, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 467; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, | |
| 1354 20:10-18. | |
| 1355 | |
| 1356 </div> | |
| 1357 | |
| 1358 <div id=ftn10> | |
| 1359 | |
| 1360 <p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> | |
| 1361 St. Thomas refers to Jn 20:17 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1362 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 20, a. 2, s. c. 3; q. 23, a. 2, obj, 2; q. 23, a. 2, ad | |
| 1363 2; q. 55, a. 6, obj. 3; q. 57, a. 1, obj. 4, and s. c.; q. 80, a. 4, ad 1. | |
| 1364 | |
| 1365 </div> | |
| 1366 | |
| 1367 <div id=ftn11> | |
| 1368 | |
| 1369 <p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 86, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 468; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 20:10-18. | |
| 1370 | |
| 1371 </div> | |
| 1372 | |
| 1373 <div id=ftn12> | |
| 1374 | |
| 1375 <p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> | |
| 1376 <i>XL homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 25; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 20:10-18. | |
| 1377 | |
| 1378 </div> | |
| 1379 | |
| 1380 <div id=ftn13> | |
| 1381 | |
| 1382 <p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a> | |
| 1383 <i>Tract. in Io</i>., | |
| 1384 121, ch. 2, col. 1956-7; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> | |
| 1385 </i>20:10-18. | |
| 1386 | |
| 1387 </div> | |
| 1388 | |
| 1389 <div id=ftn14> | |
| 1390 | |
| 1391 <p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> <i>XL | |
| 1392 homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 25; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1393 Aurea,</i> 20:10-18. | |
| 1394 | |
| 1395 </div> | |
| 1396 | |
| 1397 <div id=ftn15> | |
| 1398 | |
| 1399 <p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> <i>De Trin</i>., 1, 3; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 20:10-18. | |
| 1400 | |
| 1401 </div> | |
| 1402 | |
| 1403 <div id=ftn16> | |
| 1404 | |
| 1405 <p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16">[16]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 186, ch. 2; PG 59; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1406 Aurea</i>, 20:10-18. | |
| 1407 | |
| 1408 </div> | |
| 1409 | |
| 1410 <div id=ftn17> | |
| 1411 | |
| 1412 <p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17">[17]</a><i>Tract. | |
| 1413 in Io</i>., 121, ch. 3, col. 1957-8; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:10-18. | |
| 1414 | |
| 1415 </div> | |
| 1416 | |
| 1417 <div id=ftn18> | |
| 1418 | |
| 1419 <p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18">[18]</a> | |
| 1420 St. Thomas refers to Jn 20:19 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1421 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 54, a. 1, obj. 1; q, 55, a. 3, s. c.; Jn 20:20: <i>ST </i>III, | |
| 1422 q. 55, a. 3, obj. 1; Jn 20:22: <i>ST</i> I, q. 91, a. 4, ad 3; III, q. 3, a. 8, | |
| 1423 obj. 3; Jn 20:23: <i>ST </i>III, q. 3, a. 8, obj. 3; q. 84, a. 3, ad 3. | |
| 1424 | |
| 1425 </div> | |
| 1426 | |
| 1427 <div id=ftn19> | |
| 1428 | |
| 1429 <p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19">[19]</a> | |
| 1430 Aristotle. | |
| 1431 | |
| 1432 </div> | |
| 1433 | |
| 1434 <div id=ftn20> | |
| 1435 | |
| 1436 <p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20">[20]</a> | |
| 1437 <i>Serm. Pasch.,</i>110; | |
| 1438 cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:19-25. | |
| 1439 | |
| 1440 </div> | |
| 1441 | |
| 1442 <div id=ftn21> | |
| 1443 | |
| 1444 <p><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21">[21]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1445 in Io</i>., 121, ch. 4, col. 1958; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1446 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:19-25. | |
| 1447 | |
| 1448 </div> | |
| 1449 | |
| 1450 <div id=ftn22> | |
| 1451 | |
| 1452 <p><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22">[22]</a> <i>De Trin</i>., 4, ch. 20; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1453 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:19-25. | |
| 1454 | |
| 1455 </div> | |
| 1456 | |
| 1457 <div id=ftn23> | |
| 1458 | |
| 1459 <p><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23">[23]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 86; PG 59; | |
| 1460 cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 20:19-25. | |
| 1461 | |
| 1462 </div> | |
| 1463 | |
| 1464 <div id=ftn24> | |
| 1465 | |
| 1466 <p><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24">[24]</a> <i>XL | |
| 1467 homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 26; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1468 Aurea,</i> 20:19-25. | |
| 1469 | |
| 1470 </div> | |
| 1471 | |
| 1472 <div id=ftn25> | |
| 1473 | |
| 1474 <p><a href="#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25">[25]</a> | |
| 1475 St. Thomas refers to Jn 20:25-28 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1476 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 14, a. 4, s. c. | |
| 1477 | |
| 1478 </div> | |
| 1479 | |
| 1480 <div id=ftn26> | |
| 1481 | |
| 1482 <p><a href="#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26">[26]</a> | |
| 1483 <i>XL homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 26; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1484 Aurea,</i> 20:26-31. | |
| 1485 | |
| 1486 </div> | |
| 1487 | |
| 1488 <div id=ftn27> | |
| 1489 | |
| 1490 <p><a href="#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27">[27]</a> | |
| 1491 Ambrose. | |
| 1492 | |
| 1493 </div> | |
| 1494 | |
| 1495 <div id=ftn28> | |
| 1496 | |
| 1497 <p><a href="#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28">[28]</a> | |
| 1498 <i>XL homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 26; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1499 Aurea,</i> 20:26-31. | |
| 1500 | |
| 1501 </div> | |
| 1502 | |
| 1503 <div id=ftn29> | |
| 1504 | |
| 1505 <p><a href="#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29">[29]</a> | |
| 1506 St. Thomas refers to Jn 20:26 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1507 Theologiae: </i> III, q. 55, a. 3, s. c.; Jn 20:27: <i>ST</i> III, q. 54, a. 4, | |
| 1508 s. c.; Jn 20:26: <i>ST</i> III, q. 55, a. 3, obj. 4 and s. c.; Jn 20:29: <i>ST</i> | |
| 1509 II-II, q. 1, a. 4, obj. 1; III, q. 41, a. 2, ad 1; q. 55, a. 5, obj. 3; Jn 20: | |
| 1510 31: <i>ST</i> I, q. 1. a. 8, obj. 1; I-II, q. 106, a. 1, obj. 1. | |
| 1511 | |
| 1512 </div> | |
| 1513 | |
| 1514 <div id=ftn30> | |
| 1515 | |
| 1516 <p><a href="#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30">[30]</a> <i>Serm. | |
| 1517 Tap. ad Cat</i>., 2, 8; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> | |
| 1518 20:26-31. | |
| 1519 | |
| 1520 </div> | |
| 1521 | |
| 1522 <div id=ftn31> | |
| 1523 | |
| 1524 <p><a href="#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31">[31]</a> <i>De | |
| 1525 Symbolo</i>, 2, 8; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> | |
| 1526 20:26-31. | |
| 1527 | |
| 1528 </div> | |
| 1529 | |
| 1530 <div id=ftn32> | |
| 1531 | |
| 1532 <p><a href="#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32">[32]</a> <i>De | |
| 1533 Civitate Dei</i>, 22, 19; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> | |
| 1534 20:26-31. | |
| 1535 | |
| 1536 </div> | |
| 1537 | |
| 1538 <div id=ftn33> | |
| 1539 | |
| 1540 <p><a href="#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33">[33]</a> <i>XL | |
| 1541 homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 26; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1542 Aurea,</i> 20:26-31. | |
| 1543 | |
| 1544 </div> | |
| 1545 | |
| 1546 <div id=ftn34> | |
| 1547 | |
| 1548 <p><a href="#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34">[34]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1549 in Io</i>., 121, ch. 5, col. 1958; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1550 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:26-31. | |
| 1551 | |
| 1552 </div> | |
| 1553 | |
| 1554 <div id=ftn35> | |
| 1555 | |
| 1556 <p><a href="#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35">[35]</a> <i>XL | |
| 1557 homiliae in Evangelista</i>, 26; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1558 Aurea,</i> 20:26-31. | |
| 1559 | |
| 1560 </div> | |
| 1561 | |
| 1562 <div id=ftn36> | |
| 1563 | |
| 1564 <p><a href="#_ftnref36" name="_ftn36">[36]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 87; PG 59; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 20:26-31. | |
| 1565 </body></html> |
