Faith in the Resurrection
By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Three days after the piety of His followers had buried Him in the tomb, Our Lord resurrected.
The Resurrection represents the eternal and definitive triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the complete defeat of His enemies, and the strongest argument for our faith. Indeed, St. Paul says that if Christ had not resurrected, our faith would be in vain. All the foundations of our beliefs are based on the supernatural fact of the Resurrection. Let us therefore meditate on this lofty subject.
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Much has been said… and many have smiled about the reluctance of St. Thomas in admitting the Resurrection.
Perhaps there are some exaggerations about the incident. However, we certainly have before our eyes today examples of incredulity incomparably more obstinate than that of the Apostle.
Indeed, St. Thomas said that he needed to touch Our Lord with his own hands before he would believe in Him. However, upon seeing Him, he believed before he even touched Him.
Saint Augustine saw something providential in the Apostle’s initial reluctance to believe in the Resurrection. The Holy Doctor of Hippo says that the whole world was held in suspense by the finger of Saint Thomas. By insisting upon touching the wounds, he established a high degree of meticulousness as the basis for believing. In so doing, St. Thomas’ action guaranteed to all timorous souls in every age that the Resurrection was truly an objective fact, and not the product of exuberant imaginations.
The fact remains that at least Saint Thomas believed as soon as he saw Our Lord. How many today see but don’t believe?
For example, we see this obstinate incredulity in face of the miracles verified in Lourdes. The miracles are evident. There is a “bureau” that receives medical testimonies in Lourdes using meticulous standards. Only instantaneous cures are registered. Diseases cannot be of a nervous character or curable by any process of mere suggestion.
Several things are required to prove that a patient has a real disease. First, the patient must be examined by a doctor before he enters the Grotto. Second, all the patient’s medical records must be presented. Finally, the patient’s cure must be verified by the same examination used to verify the illness. Moreover, the cure is only really considered miraculous when the illness does not return after much time.
How can one reject such proof? How many have the nobility to act like Saint Thomas who, when placed before the undeniable truth, knelt and blatantly proclaimed it? Our Lord seems to multiply these miracles to the degree that impiety increases. Yet is there anyone who has the courage to do a serious, impartial, irrefutable study before he denies these miracles?
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Christ Our Lord was not resuscitated, He resurrected. Lazarus was resuscitated. He was dead. Somebody other than him, namely Our Lord, called him from death back to life. However, nobody resuscitated the Divine Redeemer. He did not need anyone to bring Him back to life. He returned to life when He wanted.
That which refers to Our Lord has an analogous application to the Holy Catholic Church. Throughout the history of the Church, we frequently find times when all appears irremediably lost. All the makings of a near catastrophe seem ready to destroy Her Body. In these moments, however, something always happens that keep Her alive against all the expectations of Her enemies.
A tranquil certainty in the power of the Church to resurrect can be found at the feet of Our Lady. This tranquility entirely stems from a supernatural spirit, and not from indifference or indolence.
We have to consider that she alone kept her faith intact when all circumstances appeared to prove that her Divine Son was a total failure. The Body of Christ was taken down from the Cross.
Every last drop of blood and water had been shed at the hands of His executioners. His death was not only confirmed by the testimony of the Roman soldiers, but also His own followers who buried him. An immense stone was put into place to seal permanently His tomb.
All appeared lost, but Mary Most Holy believed and remained confident. Her faith kept her so secure, serene and normal during those days of supreme desolation just as it had kept her in every other moment of her life. She knew that He would resurrect. No doubt, not even the slightest one, tainted her. Therefore at her feet, we should ask for and obtain a steadfast faith and a spirit of faith. We should make of this request the supreme ambition of our spiritual lives.
She is the supreme mediatrix of all graces and example of all virtues. She will not deny us this special grace that comes from the Resurrection.
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