Sixth reflection of the fifth week of Lent

In the fifth week of Lent, we allow ourselves to be challenged by the words of Blessed Anna Katharina Emmerick, inspired by visions of the sorrowful Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; visions on which the film The Passion is based and that… cannot leave us indifferent. 

Jesus rises from the dead

I saw Jesus, radiant with light, rise through the rock. The earth trembled, and a luminous angel, like a warrior, descended from the sky like a flash of lightning, rolled the stone from the tomb to the right, and sat on it.
At that moment, the lanterns shook violently because of the tremor, and the flame shot out in every direction. The guards fell to the ground, fainting from fear.
Cassius [a legionary] also fainted, but recovered shortly afterward and saw the cave filled with splendor. He courageously approached the burial chamber, opened the door slightly, and saw the shroud without the holy body; he touched it and immediately withdrew, intending to inform Pilate of what had happened. Before doing so, however, he lingered nearby, hoping to understand better what had actually happened. He had felt the earthquake, seen the stone leap to one side and then the angel sitting on it, but he had not seen Jesus’ body.
Some time later, these events were recounted to the apostles by Cassius and the three guards assigned to watch over the holy tomb.

As the angel descended into the tomb and the earth trembled, the Risen One, haloed in glory, appeared to the holy Mother on Mount Calvary.
His white garment, made of extraordinary light and beauty, floated in the wind and glistened in the sunlight.
Jesus spoke to the Virgin about an upcoming meeting and showed her his wide wounds, into which a finger could enter.
They shone with dazzling light, whose rays extended from the center of their hands to the tips of their fingers; the lips of these wounds bore the lines of three equilateral triangles meeting at the midpoint of a circle.
I saw the souls of the patriarchs bow humbly before the Mother of Jesus.
Because she knelt on the ground to kiss his feet, the Risen One took her by the hand, raised her up, and disappeared.
In the distance, I saw the faint light of the lanterns beside the tomb and the horizon brightening above Jerusalem. The dawn of the Resurrection was breaking.

Do I believe in the Resurrection? Do I believe that death, evil, and suffering are not the final word on life?

I’ll be waiting for you on Monday morning to continue reflecting together!