Easter Tuesday

AUGUSTINE:

Mary calls her Lord’s inanimate body her Lord, meaning a part for the whole. It is the same as when all of us acknowledge that Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, our Lord, who of course is at once both the Word and soul and flesh, was nevertheless crucified and buried, while it was only his flesh that was laid in the sepulcher.¹

JEROME:

Was he one person when he was not known and another when he was known? He was surely one and the same. Whether, therefore, they knew him or not depended on their sight. It did not depend on him who was seen. And yet, it did depend on him in this sense, that he held their eyes so that they might not know him. And finally, in order that you may see that the mistake that held them was not to be attributed to the Lord’s body but to the fact that their eyes were closed, we are told, “Their eyes were opened, and they knew him.” This is why, as long as Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus and sought the living among the dead, she thought he was the gardener. Afterward she recognized him, and then she called him Lord.²

GREGORY THE GREAT:

Mary, who was still in doubt about the Lord’s resurrection, turned around to see Jesus. By this doubt she had turned her back to the face of the Lord whom she did not believe had risen. Because she loved and doubted, she saw and did not recognize him. Her love revealed him to her, and her doubt prevented her from knowing him.³

AUGUSTINE:

What does this mean, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father”? If she could not touch him as he was standing on earth, would she be able to touch him seated in heaven? As though he was saying, “Do not touch me now; touch me then, when I have ascended to the Father.” Your graces will recall yesterday’s reading, when the Lord appeared to the disciples and they thought they were seeing a spirit. But wishing to relieve them of this mistaken idea, he offered himself to their touch. What did he say? It was yesterday. There was a sermon about it.12 “Why are you troubled, and why are thoughts coming up into your hearts? See my hands and my feet; feel and see.”13 He had not already ascended to the Father, had he, when he said feel and see, offering himself to his disciples to be touched, not just touched but felt, to produce faith in the real flesh of his real body, to present the solid reality of truth even to the human touch? So he offers himself to the hands of the disciples to be felt, but he says to the woman, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” What can it mean? Could men only touch him on earth, while women had to touch him in heaven, “for I have not yet ascended to my Father”?
So what can touching be, but believing? We touch Christ, you see, by faith, and it is better not to touch him with the hand and to touch him with faith than to feel him with the hand and not touch him with faith. It was not a great matter to touch Christ; the Jews touched him when they seized him, they touched him when they bound him, touched him when they hung him up; they touched him, and by touching him in a bad way, they lost what they touched. Just you touch by faith, O Catholic church; see that you touch by faith. If you have thought of Christ only as a man, you have touched him on earth. If you have believed Christ is Lord, equal to the Father, then you have touched him when he has ascended to the Father.⁴

Footnotes

TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 121.1. Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (p. 344). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
AGAINST JOHN OF JERUSALEM 35. Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (p. 345). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 25. Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (p. 345). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
SERMON 246.4. Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (pp. 349–350). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Daily Readings

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
by USCCB on April 18, 2024 at 8:30 am
Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,“Get up and head south on the roadthat goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,a court official of the Candace,that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,in charge of her entire treasury,who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.The Spirit said to Philip,“Go and join up with that chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,“Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied,“How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him. This was the Scripture passage he was reading:Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,so he opened not his mouth.In his humiliation justice was denied him.Who will tell of his posterity?For his life is taken from the earth.Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?About himself, or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,he proclaimed Jesus to him.As they traveled along the roadthey came to some water,and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” Then he ordered the chariot to stop,and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,and he baptized him. When they came out of the water,the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,and the eunuch saw him no more,but continued on his way rejoicing. Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good newsto all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Bless our God, you peoples,loudly sound his praise;He has given life to our souls,and has not let our feet slip.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declarewhat he has done for me.When I appealed to him in words,praise was on the tip of my tongue.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Blessed be God who refused me notmy prayer or his kindness!R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 6:51 R. Alleluia, alleluia.I am the living bread that came down from heaven,says the Lord;whoever eats this bread will live forever.R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:44-51 Jesus said to the crowds:"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,and I will raise him on the last day.It is written in the prophets:They shall all be taught by God.Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.Not that anyone has seen the Fatherexcept the one who is from God;he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;this is the bread that comes down from heavenso that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven;whoever eats this bread will live forever;and the bread that I will giveis my Flesh for the life of the world." - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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