Pray the Via Lucis (The Way of Light) with Pro Sanctity!
Let us walk this pilgrimage of faith, the Via Lucis, as daughters and sons of the light and as witnesses of the Risen Lord. Let us meditate upon the resurrection of Christ and discover the pathway of light that Christ blazes through our lives.
1. Jesus rises from the dead
Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28: 5-6
“Even though Jesus’ glorification takes place after his ascension into heaven, it really begins with the resurrection. It is from the resurrection that we begin to grasp, somehow, Jesus’ glorious life in heaven.” (Giaquinta, Jesus Retreat)
2. The disciples find the empty tomb
“Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed” (John 20: 8).
3. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalen
“She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ She thought He was the gardener and said to Him, ‘Sir, if you carried Him away, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni,’ which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, ‘Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’ Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and what He told her” (John 20: 14b-18).
Consider this account a precious gem, given by the Gospels, that we might understand the intensity of love that binds Mary to Jesus, and Jesus to Mary. (Giaquinta, Jesus Retreat)
4. Jesus walks with the disciples to Emmaus
“…It happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him…. And He said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures” (Luke 24: 15, 25-27).
5. Jesus reveals himself in the breaking of the bread
” …They urged Him, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’ So He went in to stay with them. And it happened that while He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, but He vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us’” (Luke 24: 29-32).
6. Jesus appears to the disciples
“‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have,’ And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet” (Luke 24: 38-40).
Jesus, after his resurrection, has no limits of time or space. These limitations no longer have any meaning for Christ’s risen body. Jesus’ risen body has taken up a new form, since he is able to enter the Cenacle through locked doors. The Evangelists clearly report that Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Cenacle, although they had locked themselves in because they were afraid. (Giaquinta, Jesus Retreat)
7. Jesus confers on his disciples the power to forgive sins
Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’… The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (John 20: 19b, 20b-23).
8. Jesus confirms Thomas in faith
“Thomas…was not with them when Jesus came…. Thomas said, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’…Jesus came…and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe’…Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.” (John 20: 24-29).
A surprising element in the resurrected Jesus is that He maintains the marks of his wounds in his hands, feet, and side. Jesus’ wounds appear at the same time resplendent and terrifying. They are the marks of horror and suffering. The proof we have of this is the conversation that takes place between Jesus and Thomas, the unbeliever. This makes us think that Jesus’ side was still open from the wounds caused by the nails. It seems as if Our Lord wanted to maintain these marks even after his resurrection to show his triumph over death.
9. Jesus appears to his disciples on the shore of Lake Galilee
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. John 21:1-12
Jesus, thinking that they might be hungry, prepares food for them to eat. Notice that Jesus had never done this before his Passion and Resurrection, only after. Jesus wanted to prove that His sensitivity did not end with Hid death, but remains with him beyond His earthly life. (Giaquinta, Jesus Retreat)
10. Jesus confers primacy on Peter
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’… Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ and he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know everything, You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep…. Follow Me’ ” (John 21: 15, 17b, 19b).
11. Jesus entrusts his disciples with a universal mission
“‘Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age’” (Matthew 28: 19-20).
12. Jesus ascends into heaven
So then the Lord Jesus, after He spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took His seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs” (Mark 16: 19-20
13. Mary and the disciples await the Holy Spirit’s Pentecost
When they entered the city, they went to the upper room where they were staying…. All [the apostles] devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers” (Acts 1: 13a, 14).
14. Jesus sends the Spirit promised by the Father to his disciples
“… Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2: 2-4).
It is at Pentecost that the Apostles’ eyes are opened, and they can clearly see Jesus’ intimate dimension of life. They receive insight into Jesus’ human and beatific reality through the Holy Spirit. May the Holy Spirit, the Consoler and Sanctifier descend upon you, not only to reveal to you the face of Jesus, but also to transform you into Christ’s image.