Chapter 81: Of the appearance of Christ to the eleven disciples on Mount Thabor in Galilee

I BLESS You, and give thanks to You, O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Heaven and earth, Who weigh the mountains in a balance, and boldest the earth in the hollow of Your Hand, Who sit above the Cherubim and the Seraphim, looking down upon the depths beneath, Who walk above the stars of Heaven, Who observe the ends of the earth, Who know all things before they have their being.

I bless, I praise, I glorify You for that joyful, glorious, and sublime appearance of Yours on Mount Thabor to Your eleven disciples, even as before Your Passion You did openly and distinctly promise them, saying unto them: "I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. But after I shall he risen again, I will go before you into Galilee."

First, then, You did forewarn them of two things, painful to the friends who were dear to You, and sad for them to hear, namely, the striking of the Shepherd, meaning thereby what You were to suffer at the hands of the Jews, and the dispersion of the flock which would follow shortly after, namely, their own misery and flight in fear of punishment and death. But lest, sinking under the burden of their troubles, they should give way to despair. You did straightway go on to speak of two very gladsome and consoling joys of good things to come, assuring them that on the third day You would rise again in glory, and would comfort them by appearing to them in a certain place which was well-known to them, that is to say on Mount Thabor in Galilee, the land in which You had formerly wrought many signs and wonders in the presence of Your disciples and of all the people.

Galilee, hallowed soil, fatherland of Christ, wherein lies Nazareth, the flowery City; that city which sheltered, and was made illustrious by the presence of Holy Mary the Virgin, of whom came forth to us those everlasting joys of our Salvation, which are recorded in the Holy Gospels.

I praise and glorify You, O Jesus, for Your great goodness in having summoned Your disciples to this holy and private spot, shut off from the noise of the world, a place fit to be chosen for the delivery of Your Divine commands. On that spot You had already been transfigured — the other Apostles being absent — in the presence of three chosen witnesses, Peter, James and John . and as a voice from the Father came from' Heaven, You were clothed and adorned with an excellent brightness; and by a revelation, of which they alone were witnesses. Your Majesty was, before Your Passion, made known to Your disciples for the confirmation of their faith.

In this more public appearance, however, after Your most glorious Resurrection, You did manifest Yourself to a larger number of Your disciples, in order thereby to confirm the faith of those who believed; to convince the doubting ones; lovingly to instruct and rejoice the hearts of all by Your Presence, and by manifesting to them the power over everything in Heaven and on earth given You by the Father. When, therefore, You had with Your own Lips declared these things to them, those who were then present with You adored You as was meet, and glorified Your Holy Name. Prostrating themselves at Your feet, they rejoiced in singing with the deepest devotion a new hymn to You, our God; for mysteries concerning the Holy Trinity so deep and wondrous were then made known to them, that no one can fully give expression to them. How glorious and entrancing was that vision; how unfathomable and Divine that revelation; how great and unspeakable was the joy that filled the hearts of the holy Apostles!

I praise and glorify You, O most sweet and most gentle Jesus, for having conversed so graciously with Your disciples on the Mount; for Your revelation to them of the true faith of the Holy Trinity; and for Your delivery to them of the right form of words for the baptism of the faithful, in water, for the remission of sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. In these words, as I believe, was I myself baptized by a faithful priest; and thereafter I was in the bosom of Holy Church, by faithful parents, educated and instructed in the right and Catholic faith.

For this I give thanks to You, O Christ; for it is from You that every good gift comes, and the hope of life eternal — to which hope, O Lord, when the hour of my departure shall come, may You vouchsafe to bring me, assisting me by the merits of the saints, and delivering me from the most grievous pains of purgatory. It is for me to pray; it is for You to help. I am weak and unstable, You are full of loving-kindness and mercy; You can deliver me from distress of every kind; You can bring me to the Mount of Your Glory. O Jesus, saving health of my countenance, and my God, to You do I cry; for You do I long; to You do I pray by day and by night, till such time as, by the help of Your grace alone, I shall be brought in safety to You, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost live, etc. Amen.

↑ [The words quoted are from an ancient Responsory formerly sung in many churches on Holy Saturday (of. Thomasi Opera, edition Vezzozi, v. 86).]

↑ [These words form the Antiphon at the Benedictus on Holy Saturday.]

↑ [The word used here is custos.]

↑ [In the Offices for Easter week some of the verses and antiphons are taken from the Easter Monday Gospel, in which these words occur; and it is probable that in the diocese of Utrecht in the fifteenth century, upon a feast of "the Disciples of Emmaus," and possibly upon the Feasts of some other Saints, the words quoted were similarly used.]

↑ [Cf. Introduction, page xxii.]