The Resurrection of Christ

Chapter 61: Of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross, His triumph over death, and His most joyful Resurrection from the grave

I BLESS You, and give thanks to You, O Lord Jesus Christ, for Your victory and triumph upon the Cross over death, and for Your glorious and joyful Resurrection from the Tomb, in which, after being buried amid many tears, You did, for our sakes, lie for three days and nights, actually a corpse, hidden from every human eye, and closed up with a great stone, so that You could neither be touched nor seen by Your disciples or Your friends. You were, moreover, watched by a strong guard of heathen soldiers as a precaution against Your rising from the dead, and making Your escape ; and to prevent Your disciples from carrying You away, secretly taking You to some other place, worshipping You as God, and saying to the people: " The Crucified is risen from the dead."

But in this case surely the wickedness of evil men recoiled upon themselves; and all the craftiness of the devil, all the might of Pilate, all the wrong-headedness of the people, all the knavery of the priests, all the wisdom of the Scribes, all the counsel of the Pharisees and of the Elders — anxious to wipe out Your Holy Name from among men — were brought to nought. Of a truth counsel against the Lord there can be none ; no earthly power can withstand the Most High ; against the Wisdom of God man's cunning exalts itself in vain ; the All-knowing God cannot be deceived by tricks, no matter how crafty they may be. You Who did lay the foundations of the earth, and did set to the sea its bounds ; You Who did make all things in their weight, in their number, and in their extent ; You to Whom were known the time of Your Birth, and the hour of Your Death ; You knew also the time appointed for Your Resurrection, and its hour.

When therefore, O most merciful Lord Jesus, midnight was past, and dawn was at hand, You did in a glorious Body, in an atmosphere of joy and unspeakable light, rise happily again to life from the sealed Tomb, even as at Your Birth You did come forth from the womb of Your most holy Mother the Virgin Mary, without breaking the seal of her perpetual Virginity — a stupendous mystery, an unheard-of miracle, possible only to You as God, working concurrently with God the Holy Ghost.

And this is why You did establish the Festival of Your Resurrection to be for ever kept most holy, as brighter than the sun and more glorious than all the festivals of the year ; and did provide that by the faithful throughout the world it should be celebrated with joyful hearts and voices, in Hymns and Psalms, and with frequent Alleluias, and be most conspicuously honoured by joyous remembrance and thanksgiving.

At last, then, O Christ, my King, on this night, with Angels looking on, and rejoicing with You in Your glorious triumph over death, and at the confounding of Hell, You did mercifully open to us men an entrance into everlasting life, even as You had foretold to Your disciples ; and while they knew nothing about it, You did joyfully clothe Yourself in Your glorious Body. Then indeed did all the Powers of Darkness groan and gnash their teeth at beholding the brightness of Your countenance in our human nature. There was a great earthquake also, and fear fell upon the armed guard of soldiers which was on watch at the Sepulchre ; and they became as dead men when they felt the earth quake and saw the wondrous vision of Angels. For the Angel of the Lord, shining in whiteness like to snow, came down from Heaven and took away the great stone from the Tomb; so making ready a direct and safe path for the holy women, who were on their way to it, bearing precious spices to anoint once more their Jesus in the Sepulchre, that so they might safely draw near, and see that the Tomb was empty, and that their Lord was not there, but had risen.

I praise and magnify You, O Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty King of Kings, Lord of Heaven and earth. Maker of all things, for Your hard-won victory over Hell, and for the strong fetters with which You did bind proud Lucifer, whom You did cast into a burning lake of fire, of stinking sulphur and of pitch.

I praise and glorify You for the might with which You did subdue the Devil's power for evil against the race of men, and did prevent the demons from harming us as they please, which was what they were wont to do before Your Incarnation and Passion. By a just judgement the wicked devices of the Jews in procuring Your Crucifixion between two thieves, which they had instigated in the hope of destroying You, recoiled upon their own heads.

And now behold You are risen ; You have been victorious over the Kingdom of Hell ; and by the sign of the holy Cross You have broken in pieces all the power of the demons. You have brought down their pride, and put it under the feet of the lowliest of Your servants whom You have chosen out of the world ; for now all Christians, no matter what their rank may be, be they nobles or only common folk, rejoice in being signed with the sign of the Holy Cross, and bear it boldly on their foreheads in honour of Your Name, as a defence against the fear of the old serpent, and against the scoffs of unbelieving Jews and heathens, who to this day hate the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who was crucified for the salvation of the world.

I praise and honour You, O most gracious Jesus, for mercifully visiting in Limbo the Saints of the Old Dispensation, and for releasing all the faithful souls which were resting in Abraham's bosom. They indeed had long time anxiously looked for Your descent into Hell, and with eyes full of tears were lovingly exclaiming, as we do now in this day's processional : " You are come, O loved One, Whom we have long waited for in our darkness ; You are this night come to bring forth from the prison house those who were bound."[1]

Lead you, then, the chorus of joy, O Adam, our first parent, founder, so far as man can be said so to be, of the human race ; rejoice you, together with Eve your wife of high renown, formed from your side in Paradise ! Rejoice ; for Christ, a descendant of your own. Virgin-born, and sacrificed upon the Cross, has come to deliver you and all your fellow-captive descendants, who have died trusting in Him, and in the hope of heavenly grace ! Christ has come to deliver you from the power of the grave, out of the house of bondage, out of the shadow of death, out of the den of lions, from the fear of the evil demons ; and to bring you and all the Saints of whom you were the progenitor, attended by the angels who were your dear companions when on earth, amid songs of sweet rejoicing, into a Paradise of delight and of everlasting bliss.

Do you too rejoice, O holy patriarch Abraham, father of many nations ; rejoice you with Sara, your faithful wife, over the Incarnation of Christ, foretold to you, and crowned with this Festival ! This is the day which you have long expected, and wished to see. Firmly did you believe and therefore have you been found worthy to be made glad by beholding with yours own eyes Christ, born of your seed, the Giver of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Do you too rejoice, most ancient father Isaac, at the bright vision of Christ, and at His descent into Hell, concerning which, before your death, you did prophecy ; and when blessing your son Jacob, did in mysterious words beautifully point to Christ as of holy ones the most blessed, and did speak His praises in these words : " Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord has blessed. Cursed be he that curses you ; and let him that blesses you be filled with blessings ! "

Wherefore I too, on hearing and reading these things, give thanks to You, my God, and above the names of all the Saints, bless Your sweet Name, O most sweet Jesus Christ, hoping that I may be found meet to be numbered by You among Your chosen ones, to be filled with heavenly blessings, and to come at last to that Kingdom of joy in which the holy Angels dwell with You for ever.

Do you too rejoice over this day, O mighty wrestler Jacob, chiefly for the heavenly glory and the benign glance of Jesus Christ, concerning which in days long past you did, when blessing your sons, prophetically speak in these words of faith and prayer : " I will look for Your salvation, O Lord I " O word truly sweet to the ear, and full of joy to the godly ! O wholesome word, which in its inner meaning speaks of Jesus, long desired by Patriarchs and Prophets, patiently expected, and now at length shown forth before their eyes ; for there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved, except this most sweet name of Jesus, which is blessed for ever above all things, from everlasting to everlasting ! Yes, in very truth, Jesus Himself, the Salvation of God promised in the law, Who was born of a Virgin, Who suffered on the Cross, has risen again on the third day, and has fulfilled all things which the holy Patriarchs and all the Prophets had spoken concerning Him. Speak then now quite plainly, O holy Jacob, in the joy of your heart ; say of Christ appearing in the glory of His Father in the sight of the angels of God : "I have seen my Lord face to face, and my soul has been saved!" What would you have more than this ; and what greater happiness could you desire ? If on seeing one of God's angels, your joy was so great, what ought now your joy to be when you have been found worthy to behold the Lord of Angels ? If, when it was said to you : " Joseph, your son, is living, and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt" your spirit revived, how much greater now must be your joy at Christ's rising from the grave, never any more to die, but to reign for ever over all who dwell in Heaven and in earth?

O all you holy Patriarchs and Prophets, O you kings and rulers of the people, O young men and old, O virgins and faithful widows, O Priests and Levites, O Doctors and Scribes, O you spirits and souls of the just, O you holy and humble men of heart, rejoice you all this day and be glad in Jesus Christ our Lord, Who has become our Salvation ! Praise Him and magnify Him for ever ; for He has Himself come to visit you, and to bring joy to the hearts of all who were waiting for the redemption of His people Israel !

And now, O most loving Lord Jesus Christ, true Refuge of my soul, in Whom now is, and throughout this uncertain life from youth to old age has been, all my trust, forsake me not, I pray You, poor and feeble as I am, in the trials and temptations which in so many ways beset me ! Strengthen me, O my God, in every distress of my heart, through the merits of Your most Holy Passion, and through the cruel sorrows and the abundant tears which were shed by Your most blessed Mother, in her bitter grief as she stood beneath Your Cross, and beheld Your Wounds! Make me glad also, I pray You, on account of the merits of all Your Saints who are so dear to You, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and all the other Saints who are already in bliss with You in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Remember, O Lord, those Holy Words of Yours: "Many shall come from the East and the West, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven! " — O Lord, Who on this day did rise in Your glorious Body from the Tomb, and have steadfastly promised to all who love You the bliss of everlasting life with the Angels in Heaven, grant, I beseech You, that I may be admitted into that holy company, and may be allowed to sit at Your heavenly Table — Who live, etc.