766. After Jesus our Savior, arisen and glorified, had
visited and filled with glory his most blessed Mother, He
resolved, as the loving Father and Pastor, to gather the
sheep of his flock, which the scandal of his sufferings
had disturbed and scattered. The holy Patriarchs and
all whom He had rescued from limbo continually re
mained in his company, although they did not manifest
themselves and remained invisible during his apparitions ;
only our great Queen was privileged to see them, know
them and speak to them all during the time intervening
between the Resurrection and the Ascension of her
divine Son. Whenever the Lord did not appear to
others, He remained with his beloved Mother in the
Cenacle; nor did She ever leave this place during all the
forty days. There She enjoyed the presence of the
Redeemer of the world and of the choir of Prophets
and Saints, by whom the King and Queen were attended.
For the purpose of making his Resurrection known to
his Apostles, He began by showing Himself to the
women, not on account of their weakness, but because
they were stronger in their belief and in their hope
of the Resurrection; for this is the reason why they
merited the privilege of being the first to see Him arisen.
767. The Evangelist Mark (Mark 15, 47) mentions
the special notice, which Mary Magdalen and Mary
Joseph took of the place where they had seen the body
of Jesus deposited. Accordingly they, with other holy
women, went forth on the evening of the sabbath from
the Cenacle to the city and bought additional ointments
and spices in order to return, early the following morn
ing, to the sepulchre, and show their veneration by
visiting and anointing the holy body once more. On
the Sunday, entirely ignorant of the grave s having
been sealed and placed under guard by order of Pilate
(Matth. 27, 65), they arose before dawn in order to
execute their pious design. On their way they thought
only of the difficulty of removing the large stone, which
they now remembered had been rolled before the open
ing of the sepulchre; but their love made light of this
hindrance, though they did not know how to remove it.
When they came forth from the house of the Cenacle,
it was yet dark, but before they arrived at the sepulchre
the sun had already dawned and risen; for on that day
the three hours of darkness which had intervened at
the Death of the Savior, were compensated by an earlier
sunrise. This miracle will harmonize the statements of
saint Mark and of saint John, of whom the one says,
that the Marys came after sunrise, and the other that
it was yet dark (Mark 16, 2; John 20, 1); for both
speak truly : That they went forth very early and before
dawn, and that the sun, by its more sudden and accel
erated flight, had already risen at their arrival at the
grave, though they tarried not on the short way. The
sepulchre was in an arched vault, as in a cave, the en
trance to which was covered by a large stone slab.
Within, somewhat to one side and raised from the
ground, was the hollow slab wherein the body of the
Savior rested.
768. A little before the Marys thought and spoke
of the difficulty of removing the stone, a violent and
wonderful quaking or trembling of the earth took place;
at the same time an angel of the Lord opened the
sepulchre and cast aside the stone that covered and
obstructed the entrance (Matth. 28, 2). At this noise
and the earthquake the guards of the sepulchre fell pros
trate to the earth, struck motionless with fear and con
sternation, although they did not see the Lord. For the
body of the Lord was no more in the grave; He had
already arisen and issued from the monument before
the angel cast aside the stone. The Marys, though in
some fear, took heart and were encouraged by God to
approach and enter the vault. Near the entrance they
saw the angel who had thrown aside the stone, seated
upon it, refulgent in countenance and in snow-white
garments (Mark 16, 5). He spoke to them saying:
"Be not affrighted; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who
was crucified: He is risen, He is not here; behold the
place where they laid Him." The holy women entered,
and seeing the sepulchre vacant they were filled with
grief; for as yet they were more deeply affected at
seeing the Lord absent, than by the words of the angel.
Then they saw two other angels seated at each end of
the slab, who said to them: "Why seek you the Living
with the dead? Remember how He spoke unto you,
when he was yet in Galilee (Luke 26, 4-5), that He
was to rise on the third day. But go, tell his disciples
and Peter, that He goeth before you into Galilee, there
shall you see Him" (Mark 16, 7).
769. Being thus reminded by the angels the Marys
remembered what their divine Master had said. Assured
of his Resurrection they hastened away from the
sepulchre and gave an account to the eleven Apostles
and other followers of the Lord. But many of these
were so shaken in their faith and so forgetful of the
words of their Master and Redeemer, that they thought
this story of the holy women a mere hallucination (Luke
24, 11). While the holy women, full of trembling and
joy, related to the Apostles what they had seen, the
sentinels at the grave awoke from their stupor and re
gained the use of their senses. As they saw the sep
ulchre open and emptied of the sacred body, they fled
to give notice of the event to the princes and priests
(Matth. 11, 14). These were cast into great conster
nation and called a meeting in order to determine what
they could do in order to palliate the miracle, which
was so patent that it could not remain hidden. They
concluded to offer to the soldiers much money to induce
them to say that during their sleep the disciples of
Jesus had come and stolen the body from the grave.
The priests, having assured the guards of immunity and
protection, spread this lie among the Jews. Many were
so foolish as to believe it; and there are some in our own
day, who are obstinate and blind enough to give it
credit and who prefer to accept the testimony of wit
nesses, who acknowledged that they were asleep during
the time of which they testify.
770. Although the disciples and Apostles considered
the tale of the Marys mere preposterous talk, saint Peter
and saint John, desirous of convincing themselves with
their own eyes, departed in all haste to the sepulchre,
closely followed by the holy women (John 20, 3).
Saint John arrived first, and without entering saw the
winding-sheets laid to one side. He waited for the
arrival of saint Peter, who, passing the other Apostle,
entered first. Both of them saw that the sacred body
was not in the tomb. Saint John then was assured of
that he had begun to believe, when he had seen the
great change in the Queen of heaven, as I have related
in the foregoing chapter, and he then professed his
belief. The two Apostles returned to give an account
of the wonder they had seen in the sepulchre. The Marys
remained in a place apart from the sepulchre and wonderingly
commented on the events. Mary Magdalen,
in great excitement and tears, re-entered the sepulchre
to reconnoitre. Although the Apostles had not seen the
angels, she saw them and they asked her: "Woman,
why dost thou weep?" (John 20, 5). She answered:
"Because they have taken away my Lord; and I know
not where they have laid Him." With this answer she
left the garden where the sepulchre was, and met the
Lord. She did not know Him, but thought it was the
gardener. And the Lord also asked her : "Woman, why
weepest thou ? Whom dost thou seek ?" (John 15). Mag
dalen, ignorant of his being the Lord, answered Him
as if He were the gardener and, without further re
flection, said: "Sir, if thou hast taken Him hence, tell
me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him
away." Then the loving Master said: "Mary," and in
pronouncing her name He permitted Himself to be rec
ognized by the tone of his voice.
671. As soon as Magdalen recognized Jesus she was
aflame with joyous love and aswered saying: "Rabboni,
my Master!" Throwing herself at his feet, she was
about to touch and kiss them, as being used to that
favor. But the Lord prevented her and said: "Do not
touch Me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father
whence I came; but return and tell my brethren, the
Apostles, that I am going to my Father and theirs."
Then Magdalen left, filled with consolation and jubilee.
Shortly she met the other Marys. Scarcely had they
heard what had happened to her and how she had seen
Jesus arisen from the grave, and while they were yet
standing together conferring with each other in wonder
and tears of joy, He appeared to them and said: "God
save you." They all recognized Him and, as saint
Matthew tells us, they worshipped his sacred feet. The
Lord again commanded them to go to the Apostles and
tell them, that they had seen Him and that they should
go to Galilee, where they should see Him arisen (Matth.
22, 9). Jesus then disappeared and the holy women
hastened to the Cenacle to tell the Apostles all that had
happened to them; but the Apostles continued to hesi
tate in their belief (Luke 24, 11). Then the women
sought the Queen of Heaven in order to tell Her of
the events. Although Mary knew all that had happened
by intellectual vision, She listened to them with admir
able tenderness and prudence. While listening to the
Marys, She took occasion to confirm their faith in the
mysteries and high sacraments of the Incarnation and
in the passages of holy Scriptures pertaining thereto.
But the heavenly Queen did not tell them what had
happened, although She was the Teacher of these faith
ful and devout disciples, just as the Lord was the
Teacher of the Apostles in holy faith.
772. The Evangelists do not state when the Lord
appeared to saint Peter, although saint Luke supposes it ;
but it was after He had appeared to the women. He
appeared to him in private as the head of the Church
and before He appeared to all of the Apostles together
or to any one of them. This happened on that same
day, after the holy women had informed him of his
apparition to them. Soon after also happened the ap
parition of the Lord to the two disciples going that
afternoon to Emmaus, which is related minutely by
saint Luke (Luke 24, 13). This town is sixty stadia
from Jerusalem; four Palestinian miles and about two
Spanish leagues. The one of them was called Cleophas
and the other was saint Luke himself. It took place
in the following manner : The two disciples left Jerusa
lem, after they had heard the reports of the women.
On the way they continued to converse about the events
of the Passion, the holiness of their Master and the
cruelty of the Jews. They wondered that the Almighty
should permit so holy and innocent a Man to suffer
such wrongs and torments. The one said: "When was
ever such meekness and gentleness seen?" and the other
coincided, saying: "Who ever saw or heard of such
patience, without a word of complaint or the least sign
of perturbation in outward appearance or bearing? His
doctrine was holy, his life blameless, his words those
of eternal life, his doings for the welfare of all. What
then could the priests see in him to warrant such hatred?"
The other answered: "Truly He was wonderful in all
respects; and no one can deny, that He was a great
Prophet; He performed many miracles, gave sight to
the blind, health to the sick, life to the dead, and con
ferred wonderful benefits upon all. But He said He
would rise on the third day after his Death, which is
today, and this we do not see fulfilled." The other one
replied : "He also said that He would be crucified, and
it was fulfilled to the word" (Matth. 20, 19).
773. In the midst of this and similar conversation
Jesus appeared to them in the habit of a pilgrim and
as one who happened to meet them on the way. He
saluted them and said: "Of what do you speak, for it
seems to Me you are sad?" Cleophas answered: "Art
Thou the only stranger in Jerusalem, that Thou dost
not know what has happened during these days in the
city?" The Lord said: What has happened, then?"
to which the disciple replied: "Dost thou not know
what the princes and priests have done to Jesus of Naza
reth, a Man holy and powerful in words and deeds ; how
they condemned and crucified him? We had hopes that
He would redeem Israel by rising from the dead; now
the third day has already come, and we do not know
what has happened. And some of the women of our
party have terrified us, since they went early this morn
ing to the sepulchre and did not find the body. They
maintain that they saw some angels who told them that
He had risen. Then some of our associates went to
the grave and found true, what the women had said.
We are going to Emmaus in order to await the drift of
these events." Then the Lord answered: "O foolish
and slow of heart to believe; since you do not under
stand, that it must be so, that Christ suffer all these
pains and so frightful a death in order to enter into his
glory!"
774. Following up these mysteries the divine Master
then explained to them his life and death for the Re
demption of the human race; He interpreted to them
different types of holy Scripture: of the lamb which
Moses commanded to be slain and eaten, after the thresh
olds should have been marked with its blood (Exod. 12,
7) ; the death of the highpriest Aaron (Numb. 20, 23),
the death of Samson through the amours of his spouse
Delila (Judges 16, 30), many psalms of David pointing
out the wicked council, the crucifixion and the division of
his garments (Ps. 21, 17, 19; 15, 10), and that his body
shall not see corruption; what is said in Wisdom (Wis
dom 2, 20) and more clearly in Isaias (Is. 53, 2) and
Jeremias (11, 19) concerning his Passion; namely, that
He should appear as a leper and a man of sorrows,
that He should be borne to slaughter like a lamb without
opening his mouth; and in Zacharias, who saw Him
pierced with many wounds; and many other passages of
the holy Prophets, which clearly manifest the mysteries
of his life and death. By the fervor of these arguments
the disciples were gradually enkindled with love and
enlightened in the faith, which they had permitted to be
obscured. And when they were already near to the
castle of Emmaus, the divine Master gave them to
understand, that He was to pass on in his journey; but
they eagerly begged Him to stay with them, as it was
getting late in the evening. The Lord yielded and,
invited by the disciples, sat down to supper with them
according to the manner of the Jews. The Lord took
the bread, blessing it and breaking it as usual, He im
parted to them, with it, the certainty that He was their
Redeemer and Master.
775. They knew Him, because He opened the eyes
of their souls. In the same instant He disappeared from
their bodily eyes and they saw Him no more. But they
were left in a state of wonder and full of joy, conferring
with each other about the ardors of charity they had felt
on the way, when He had conversed with them and ex
plained to them the Scriptures. Without delay they
returned to Jerusalem (Luke 24, 33), although night
had already set in. They went to the house, where the
rest of the Apostles had secreted themselves for fear of
the Jews and they found them discussing the news of
the risen Savior and how He had already appeared to
Peter. To this the two disciples added all that had
happened to them on the way to Emmaus, and how they
had recognized the Savior at the breaking of the bread
in the castle of Emmaus. At this meeting was present
also saint Thomas, who, although hearing the argu
ments of the Apostles and the testimony of saint Peter
asserting that he had seen the Master risen, refused
credit to the three disciples and the -women, persevering
in doubt and unbelief. In a somewhat hasty manner,
caused by his incredulity, he left their company. Shortly
after, when Thomas had left and the doors had been
locked, the Lord entered and appeared to the others.
In their midst He saluted them, saying: "Peace be with
you. It is I; do not fear."
776. At this sudden apparition, the Apostles feared
lest what they saw was a ghost or phantasm, and the
Lord added: "Why are you troubled, and why do
thoughts arise in your hearts? See my hands and feet,
that it is I myself; handle and see: for a spirit hath no
flesh and bones, as you see Me have." The Apostles
were so excited and confused, that though they saw Him
and touched the wounded hands of the Savior, they
could not realize, that it was He to whom they spoke
and whom they touched. The loving Master in order
to assure them still more, said to them: "Give Me to
eat, if you have aught." Joyfully they offered Him
some fried fish and a comb of honey. He ate part of
these, and divided the rest among them, saying: "Do
you not know, that all that has happened with Me is
the same that has been written by Moses and the
Prophets, in the Psalms and holy Scriptures, and that
all must necessarily be fulfilled in Me as it was proph
esied?" And at these words He opened their minds,
and they knew Him, and understood the sayings of the
Scriptures concerning his Passion, Death and Resur
rection on the third day. Having thus instructed them,
He said again: "Peace be with you. As the Father
has sent me, so I send you, in order that you may teach
the world the knowledge of the truth, of God and of
eternal life, preaching repentance for sins and forgive
ness of them in my name." Breathing upon them, He
added and said: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost, in order
that the sins which you forgive may be forgiven, and
those which you do not forgive, may not be forgiven.
Preach ye to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem." Then
the Savior, having thus consoled and confirmed them
in faith, and having given them and all priests the power
to forgive sins, disappeared from their midst.
777. All this took place in the absence of Thomas ; but
soon after, the Lord so disposing, he returned to the
assembly, and the Apostles told him what had happened
during his absence. Yet, though he found them so
changed in joyful exultation, he remained incredulous
and obstinate, maintaining, that he would not believe
what all of them affirmed, unless he himself should see
with his own eyes and touch with his own hands and
fingers the wounds of the Savior s side and those of the
nails (John 20, 25). In this obstinacy the incredulous
Thomas persevered for eight days, when the Savior
again returned through locked doors and appeared in
the midst of the Apostles including Thomas. He saluted
them as usual, saying: "Peace be with you," and then
calling Thomas, He sweetly reprimanded him. "Come,
Thomas, and with your hands touch the openings of
my hands and of my side, and be not so incredulous,
but convinced and believing." Thomas touched the divine
wounds and was interiorly enlightened to believe and
to acknowledge his ignorance. Prostrating himself to
the ground he said : "My Lord and my God !" to which
the Lord replied : "Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast
believed; but blessed are those who do not see Me and
believe Me." The Lord then disappeared, leaving the
Apostles and Thomas filled with light and joy. They
immediately sought most holy Mary in order to relate
to Her what had happened, just as they had done after
the first apparition of the Lord.
778. The Apostles were at that time not yet able to
comprehend the great wisdom of the Queen of heaven
and earth, and much less to understand the knowledge
She had of all that happened to them and of all the
works of her divine Son; She therefore listened to them
with highest prudence and with the loving sweetness of
a Mother and Queen. After the first apparition some
of the Apostles told Her of the obstinacy of Thomas,
and that he would not believe their unanimous testimony
concerning the Resurrection of the Master. During
the eight days in which his incredulity continued, the
indignation of some of the Apostles against him grew
more intense. They went to the heavenly Lady and
accused him before Her of being an obstinate and stub
born transgressor, a man too dull to be enlightened. The
loving Princess listened to them sweetly, and seeing that
the anger of the Apostles, who were as yet all imperfect,
was still increasing, She spoke to those most indignant
and quieted them by arguing that the judgments of the
Lord were deeply hidden and that the incredulity of
Thomas would occasion great benefit to others and glory
to God; that they should wait and hope and not be
disturbed so easily. The heavenly Mother offered up
most fervent prayers and petitions for Thomas and on
that account the Lord hastened the cure of the incredu
lous Apostle. When He yielded and all of them brought
the news to Mary, their Mistress and Lady, She con
firmed them in their faith, at the same time admonishing
and correcting them. She told them to give thanks to
the Most High for this blessing, and to be constant in
temptation, since all were subject to the danger of falling.
Many other sweet words of correction, instruction and
warning did She add, preparing them for what was yet
to be done in the establishment of the new Church.
779. There were other apparitions and doings of the
Lord, as the Evangelist saint John gives us to under
stand; but only those are mentioned, which suffice to
establish the fact of the Resurrection. The same Evan
gelist describes the apparition of the Lord at the sea of
Tiberias to saint Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of
Zebedee, and two other disciples, which, as it is so mys
terious, I thought I ought not pass over unmentioned in
this chapter. The apparition happened in the following
manner: the Apostles, after the above events in Jerusa
lem, betook themselves to Galilee; for the Lord had so
commanded them and had promised, that they should
there see Him. Saint Peter, happening to be with the
seven Apostles and disciples on the shores of that sea,
proposed that they pass the time in fishing, as that was
his trade. All of them accompanied him and they spent
the night in casting out their nets; but they caught not
a single fish. In the morning our Savior Jesus appeared
on the bank without making Himself known. He was
near the boat on which they were fishing and He asked
them : "Have you something to eat ?" They answered :
"We have nothing." The Lord replied: "Throw out
your net on the right side, and you shall make a catch."
They complied and their net became so filled, that they
could not lift it into the boat. This miracle caused saint
John to recognize the Lord Christ, and going nearer to
saint Peter, he said : "It is the Lord who speaks to us
from the bank." Then saint Peter likewise recognized
Jesus ; and immediately seized with his accustomed fervor,
he hastily girded himself with the tunic, which he had
laid off, and cast himself into the sea, walking on the
waters to the Master of life, while the others followed
in their boat.
780. They sprang ashore and found that the Lord had
already prepared for them a meal; for they saw a fire
and upon its glimmering ashes bread and a fish. The
Lord however told them to bring some of those they
had caught. Saint Peter then drew out the catch and
found, that they had secured one hundred and fifty-three
fishes; and that even with that great number the net
had not been torn. The Lord commanded them to eat.
Although He was so familiar and affable in his behavior
to them, no one ventured to ask who He was; for the
miracles and the majesty of the Lord filled them with
great reverence. He divided among them the fish and
the bread. As soon as they had finished eating, He
turned to saint Peter and said to him: "Simon, son of
John, dost thou love Me more than these do?" Saint
Peter answered: "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love
Thee." The Lord replied: "Feed my lambs." Im
mediately He asked again: "Simon, son of John, dost
thou love me?" Saint Peter gave the same answer:
"Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee." And the Lord
put the same question the third time: "Simon, son of
John, lovest thou me?" At this third repetition Peter
grieved and answered : "Lord, Thou knowest all things,
and also that I love Thee." Christ our Savior then
answered the third time: "Feed my sheep/* By these
words he made Peter the sole head of his only and uni
versal Church, giving him the supreme vicarious au
thority over all men. On this account He had ques
tioned him so often concerning his love, as if that alone
could make him capable of the supreme dignity, and of
itself sufficed for its worthy exercise.
781. Then the Lord intimated to him the duties of
the office He had given him and said: Truly I assure
thee, that when thou art old, thou shalt not gird thyself
as now, nor shalt thou go where thou listest ; for another
shall gird thee and lead thee where thou wouldst not."
Saint Peter understood, that the Lord held in store for
him the death of the cross in which he was to imitate
and follow his Lord. But as saint John was so beloved,
Peter was desirous of knowing what would become of
him, and he asked the Savior: "And what shalt Thou
do with this one so beloved by Thee?" The Lord an
swered: "What is it to thee to know this? If I desire
that he remain thus until I come again to the world, it
will be in my hands. Follow thou Me, and do not con
cern thyself with what I desire to do with him." On
account of these words a report was spread among the
Apostles, that John was not to die. But the Evangelist
himself remarks, that Christ had not said positively, he
should not die, as is plain from the words, but He seems
to have expressly desired to conceal his will concerning
the death of the Evangelist, reserving this secret to Him
self at that time. The most holy Mary, by her clear
intuition so often mentioned, had a full intelligence of
all these mysteries and apparitions of the Lord. Being
the archive of the works of the Lord and the treasurehouse
of the mysteries of his Church, She preserved and
conferred them within her own most prudent and chaste
heart. The Apostles, and especially her new son John,
informed Her of all that happened to them. The great
Lady persevered in her retirement for the forty days
after the Resurrection and there enjoyed the sight of her
divine Son and of the angels and saints. They in turn
sang hymns to the Lord, which She composed ; and the
angels as it were gathered them from her mouth, cele
brating the glories and the virtues of the Lord.
INSTRUCTION WHICH THE QUEEN, MOST HOLY MARY,
GAVE ME.
782. My daughter, the instruction which I shall give
thee in this chapter shall be also an answer to thy desire
of knowing why my divine Son appeared at one time as
a gardener, at another as a stranger, and why He did
not always make Himself known at first sight. Know
then, my dearest, that the Marys and the Apostles, al
though they were followers of Christ and at that time
privileged and perfect in comparison with the rest of
men; yet they had withal arrived only at a low degree
of perfection and holiness and not far enough advanced
in the school of their Master. They were weak in faith
and in other virtues ; they were less constant and fervent
than was due to their vocation and to the graces they
had received. The little faults in souls favored and
chosen for the friendship and familiar intercourse with
God weigh more in the scales of his most righteous
equity, than some great ones in other souls not selected
for these privileges. Hence, although the Apostles and
the Marys were friends of the Savior, yet, on account of
their faults and their weaknesses, their lukewarm and
faltering love, they were not prepared for the immediate
effects of the full knowledge and presence of their Mas
ter. In this paternal love He therefore created in them
the proper dispositions by enlightening them and en
kindling them with words of eternal life before He
manifested Himself to them. When their hearts had
been thus prepared by faith and love, He made known
and communicated to them the abundance of his Divinity
together with other admirable gifts and graces by which
they were renewed and raised above themselves. When
they had enjoyed his favors, He again disappeared, in
order that they might desire so much the more earnestly
the sweetness of his communications and intercourse.
This was the secret of his appearing in disguise to Mag
dalen, to the Apostles, and to the disciples at Emmaus.
The same course He pursues respectively with many
other souls, whom He chooses for intimate converse and
communication.
783. By the consideration of these admirable tactics of
divine Providence thou wilt be instructed and repre
hended for the doubts and incredulity with which thou
hast so often met the divine blessings and favors
of my Son. Thou wilt learn that it is time thou
moderate thy constant fears, lest thou pass from
doubt to obstinacy and to slowness of heart in giv
ing thanks. Thou wilt also draw a very useful
lesson if thou worthily contemplate, how quickly
the immense charity of the Most High responds
to those who are contrite and humble of heart (Ps. 33,
19), and how ready He is, immediately to assist those
who seek Him in love, who meditate and speak of his
Passion and Death (Wis. 6, 13). All this thou seest
well exemplified in saint Peter, Mary Magdalen and in
the disciples. Imitate then, my dearest, the fervor of
Magdalen in search for her Master, who did not permit
herself to be diverted even by the angels, or leave the
sepulchre with the others, or rest until she found Him
so full of sweetness and kindness. This she also earned
by having accompanied Me through all the Passion with
an ardent and unfaltering heart. Similar was also the
conduct of the other Marys, who thus merited before
so many others the joys of the Resurrection. Next to
them the humility and contrition of saint Peter in bewail
ing his denial, secured the same reward ; immediately the
Lord bent down to console him and commissioned the
women to tell especially him of his Resurrection and
shortly after, He visited him, confirmed him in faith
and filled him with joy and the gifts of grace. Then
before appearing to others, He showed Himself to the
two disciples, because, although in doubt, they were con
versing regretfully of his Death. I assure thee, my
daughter, that none of the works of men done with a
good intention and righteous heart, shall remain without
an immediate reward. For neither fire will in its greatest
intensity so quickly consume the driest tow, nor will a
stone, freed from hindrance, so quickly fall to its centre,
nor the waves of the sea rush on with so great an impulse
and force, as the goodness of the Most High and his
grace to those souls, who are well disposed and have
cleared away the hindrances of sin. This is a truth
which causes the greatest wonder in the saints, who are
made aware of it in heaven. Praise Him for this good
ness and also for his drawing vast good out of
evil, as He did out of the incredulity of the Apostles.
For through it He manifested his mercy to them and
has made his Resurrection plain to all men, and evident
his kindness in pardoning the Apostles. He showed his
willingness to forget their faults, his readiness to seek
them and appear to them, dealing humanely with them
as a father, enlightening them and instructing them
according to their needs and the weakness of their faith.
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