I. Consider, my soul, how Senator Nicodemus and the noble and rich Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Counsel, wrapped up Jesus in a clean linen cloth and laid Him with spices in a new sepulchre that had been hewn out in a rock. They rolled a great stone to the door of the monument and went their way. But the Chief-priests and the Pharisees, remembering the prophecy of Jesus that He would rise again on the third day, obtained from Pilate that the sepulchre should be guarded by guards till that day: they secured the sepulchre with guards, sealing up the stone. Oh, how miserable our views are, O my God! Oh, human prudence, how weak thou art, against the Lord! Thou shalt result in thy confusion and in his glory. Jesus who died on Friday, 25th of March, rises again on the third day by the power of his Godhead. His most holy Soul, separated from his Body, continued to be united to his Godhead, and was still the Soul of a God. That sacred Body, although separated from the soul, continued to be united to his Godhead,  was still the Body of a God, worthy, even in the state of death, of the adorations of men and Angels. The soul of Jesus went down to the Limbus of the Just: He went down there as their God and their deliverer.

     Consider, my soul, how those holy Souls expected Him since long, and some of them, like Abel's, since the beginning of the world. Consider with what love and gratitude the Saints of the Old Testament, on seeing the Savior, adored and thanked Him. Thou must imitate them, by desiring to be admitted one day in Paradise through the merits of thy Redeemer.

     The most sacred Body of Jesus rested in the sepulchre three days, because by his suffering and dying He had delivered from eternal death the men of all the three ages of the world, those who had piously lived under the law of nature, under the Law of Moses, and those who were to live in the Law of Grace. At dawn on the third day, Jesus in an instant rises again from the dead, and comes out of the grave, as He had come out of Mary's unspotted womb, and as in a short time, He would enter the dining room the doors being shut. As Almighty God, He did not vouchsafe to manifest the way of His resurrection, but He effected it in secret. As it belonged to a supernatural order, it was to be revealed to men by the Angels, And behold there was a great earthquake. For an Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. An Angel alone was sufficient to strike with terror all the soldiers, who were guarding the sepulchre, and to throw them on the ground as dead men, so that all of them (the were fifty) fled, and not even one of them came back.

     Come, Priests, Scribes, and Pharisees see to what state those are reduced whom you brave armed against a dead man, whom you called a seducer. Your example has been followed by our impious men, that think of calming the troubles of their conscience, by ranking Jesus among the illustrious men, as Numa, Moses, and Mohammed. But which of your fabulous heroes could ever say whilst he was yet living: After three days I will rise again? These wonderful words were reserved to the true Son of God: neither fable, nor wickedness, nor the devil, nor men, however sublime and powerful they may be, could ever imagine such a thing! So the word of Isaias the prophet was accomplished: And his sepulchre shall be glorious. Nobody has touched your soldiers, nobody has told them anything; and behold how they are reduced, only for what they have seen! If they have not died, if God has permitted them to rise and flee, it is only on purpose that you may hear from themselves your defeat and shame, to be undeniable witness of His resurrection and power, in order that all men might understand that if they had seen Him suffering scourges, thorns, and death, it had been only because it was His own will. You are not worthy of hearing the Mystery of Resurrection from the witnesses chosen by God.

     O true Son of God, what consolation this is for me and for us all that firmly believe in thee! Thy resurrection, O my glorious Savior, filled thy very enemies with terror: as for me, it affords me only joy and great consolation, because thy resurrection assures me of my reconciliation with God, and therefore of my justification. Thine is the model of the resurrection of our souls to grace, and of the resurrection of our bodies on the Day of Judgment. And as Thou tookest a new life in rising from the dead, so we also, resuscitating from sin to grace, live a new life. Help me, O Lord, to overcome the obstacles that still stand in my way, remove the enemies of my salvation, send me thy holy Angels, and rule Thou alone over all my actions till the moment when Thou wilt show thyself to me in the blessed eternity. 

 

     II. Consider, my soul, how sorry the convert Magdalen is to quit her beloved Master's sepulchre. On Friday evening she bathes that grave with her tears; and the rest of Saturday surprises her at the grave. On Saturday evening she goes to the sepulchre another time, and she quits it only to go to buy spices, and return there on Sunday morning. O noble example of a sincere conversion to God! O model of the human heart, frail in falling, but made strong in God's love! True charity does not extinguish itself at the beloved person's death because love is stronger than death.

     It is still night, and the full moon continues to diffuse a clear light on earth when Magdalen wakes her companions and solicits them to take the road with her. Magdalen gets the start of the day, because the hours are for her too slow in passing. Alas, when I go to Holy Communion, why have I not the same desires, the holy impatience and the devout care of Magdalen for the dead Body of Jesus? Ah, I am far from all this, because I have not her love! My soul, imitate her fervour by often visiting thy Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, especially on the eve of Communion: pour out thy tender feelings of love and thy ardent desires of receiving Him, and by means of spiritual Communions inwardly embrace Him as often as possible during the day, and by night when thy sleep is interrupted, and at break of day.

     Mary Magdalen cometh early when it was yet dark unto the sepulchre: and she saw the stone taken away from it. The first thing that makes impression on her is the great stone (which had been sealed by order of the Pontiffs) out of its place and rolled back. She advances, fixes her looks as far as the sepulchre, and sees that her divine Master's body is not longer there. What a stroke to her heart! Undoubtedly she thinks: someone has taken Him away during the night; but where can I seek him? She runs therefore, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and says to them: They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the sepulchre. And they both ran together; John, the virgin, outran Peter, arrived first, but he went not in, out of respect to the Chief of the Apostles. Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulchre, and saw the linen cloths lying, And the napkin that had been about His head (the Holy Winding-sheet) not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, diligently wrapped up in one place... The disciples therefore, departed again to their home.

     Consider, my soul, the sorrow of Magdalen, when she did not find Jesus; and learn what must be the sorrow of a heart truly wishing to be converted to God. She does not quit that place, but stands at the sepulchre outside, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre. She is abandoned by everyone, nor has she anything left but her sorrow and tears. Oh, how many she shed! How many times she called her divine Master! How many times she repeated His adorable name! O broken heart, O sorrowful soul, why dost thou remain at such a melancholy place? Why dost thou still look into the sepulchre, where thy Master is no longer? Ah! if we sought Jesus, like Magdalen; if, after losing His grace through sin, or the consolations of His love through our lukewarmness, we felt like Magdalen the greatness of our loss, if we persevered like her in seeking Jesus, and we called Him with our cries and tears; we should, like her, find Him again, with an abundant joy that would surpass all our hopes.

     Yes, O my God, today I commemorate the day of thy glorious Resurrection, and this I wish to be the day of my perfect conversion to thee. Peter, John and Magdalen, viz the hearts most loving thee, and the pious women go to see thee in the sepulchre; and Thou wishest me to find thee again by dying to myself, by burying my wicked passions, by practicing mortification. Grant me then, the grace of dying to myself, in order to resuscitate with thee, and then lead a life like thine, viz a new, divine, immortal life: new by the change of my conduct, divine by the purity of my sentiments, immortal by the perseverance in good works. O my God, work this happy change in me. Make me pass from death to life, from darkness to light,  from an imperfect life to a life perfect and worthy of thee.

 

    III. Consider, my soul, that another quality of a heart converted to God is the indifference to all that is not Jesus'. God alone, no one but God: this is her motto, this her daily exercise, her aspiration, the principle of all her desires. No other affection, no other interest must occupy thy heart, and Jesus will soon come to establish his kingdom in it. Take Magdalen as a pattern.

     And she saw two Angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus has been laid. They said to her: Woman, why weepest thou? She answered them: Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. She is not tranquil, she does not take fright at the sudden apparition of two Angels, she is not dazzled by their beauty, nor puffed up with their speech. She sees, hears and answers them, but she speaks only to know where Jesus is, being ready to quit the Angels for a gardener, if the latter can give her some explanations. She thinks that everyone knows the cause of her tears; she exchanges Jesus for the gardener; she offers herself to take herself His dead body, as if it were a flower. Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. How bold true love is! Everything appears easy to him: if the most cruel torments are presented to him, He bears them with the same courage that so many millions of martyrs let us see. And what will she do on hearing her Master's voice, calling her by her name? She who had never departed from Jesus' Cross, nor could quit his sepulchre?

     See, my soul, the sublime effects of a true conversion of the heart. The latter becomes then the Most Holy Trinity's throne, complaisance, and delight, the object of divine favors, the admiration of the Angels and the joy of the Guardian Angel. See all this in Magdalen. Oh, how complaisantly this divine Savior sees her sentiments, wishes, love, perseverance, and the ardor of her courage, that makes her ready to undertake anything whatever! How much He rewards the love of the souls that are converted to Him, by filling their hearts with the most pure and unspeakable joy! Magdalen shall be privileged above the very Apostles, because she shall see her Redeemer risen before them. But Jesus having risen... appeared first to Mary Magdalen, out of whom he had cast seven devils (St. Mark). She is called by her name. Jesus said to her: Mary! She turning said to him: Master!... Two words were sufficient: but in these two words, how many wonders, how many graces, how many lights accompanied the former! how many transports of joy and love accompanied the latter! She receives directly from Jesus the honorable charge of announcing His Resurrection to the Apostles. Mary, go to my brethren, and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God, and your God.

     Ah! should Jesus see in me the generous dispositions of Magdalen, what would He do to me?... But alas, quite the reverse happens! In order to please the world and to satisfy my passions, I undertake things beyond my power. Only for God's service and for acquiring my own perfection, I allege my powerlessness and weakness!

     O Jesus, I acknowledge thee for my true Master, and do Thou vouchsafe to acknowledge me for thy disciple. Show thyself to my heart, and inflame it with thy divine love. What is that I hear from thy divine mouth, O my Lord? Go to my brethren... O Lord, Thou hadst said it. Thou wouldst no longer call them thy servants, but thy friends: and now dost Thou call them brethren?... O my Savior's ardent charity! He calls them brethren who a few days before had fled from Him for fear, leaving Him to the will of his enemies! O my benefactor, dost Thou not complain of them, nor send them any reproach, but the affectionate title of brethren? Dost Thou name Peter particularly to reassure him of the pardon Thou hadst already granted him, and to honor him as the Chief of all? O Jesus' love, how great thou art towards the sons of men, always meek, always affectionate towards sinners! And who is the sinner so foolish and obdurate, as not to throw himself at the feet of the best Father, always gracious and tender hearted towards his wandering children?

     Peter obtained at once the forgiveness of his fault, because he had sinned on Friday, and onSaturday next he ran to throw himself at the feet of the Most Holy Virgin, telling her with many tears: My Lady, forgive this unfaithful servant, who for human fear has denied his God, thy Son! And Mary comforted him and assured him of her pardon; and he doubted no longer of having obtained it from Jesus also, because Jesus is never contrary to what His Mother wishes.

     My sinful soul, if through thy numerous relapses thou hast not the courage to have recourse to Jesus, though He be meek and tender-hearted, have recourse to his Mother, who is the source of divine mercy: go to her feet with trust, and She will obtain for thee from her Son the means of quitting sin, and the grace of a sincere conversion. Jesus Christ having taken from Mary's substance that most holy Humanity which He sacrificed for our Redemption, has delivered her all the treasures of the merits that He acquired in the course of His mortal career.

     O Mary, thou wast the first to receive from Jesus the consolation of seeing Him risen again, because, as his Most Holy Mother, thou hadst partaken more than any other of His Passion. Thou for the first sawest him in all the brightness of His glory, attended by the Angels and the Souls of the Saints taken out of the Limbus, as Thou wast the last to quit His Cross, when thou claspedst Him dead and disfigured in thy arms. Thee He thanked for all Thou hadst suffered during thirty-three years: for the most hard incommodities at Bethlehem, the refusal of men, the abjection, the poverty, the flight into Egypt, and the bitter participation of all His pains, as the Redeemer of mankind. Make me a partaker of this thy spiritual joy, and accomplish the ardent wish of my heart: convert the whole of it to God, draw the whole of it to thee, and stamp upon it thy sorrows and the Passion of thy Lord Crucified. So be it.

​​