This article is part of the Marian Mondays Series, a weekly reflection on the mysteries of the rosary by Jonathan Conrad, owner and founder of The Catholic Woodworker. Subscribe to have these reflections and more sent straight to your inbox every week.
There are eight times in the synoptic Gospels where Jesus says he must suffer, be killed, and be raised on the third day. That’s three times each in Matthew (1) and Mark (2) and twice in Luke (3).
Despite this, there’s no evidence that the Apostles believed in Jesus’s prophecy, even when they later hear and see that the tomb is empty. They personally knew Jesus, listened to Him teach, watched His Passion and Death, and yet they did not immediately have faith in His resurrection.
Eventually, each Apostle did come to believe that Jesus rose from the dead in his own time. But as we see in the post-Resurrection Gospel passages, it took a while for each of them to see that truth and fully comprehend it.
I think this is an important thing to keep in mind, especially during our own periods of spiritual desolation. We know that Jesus was resurrected and is alive again in body and soul. But this truth is at times hidden from us or hard for us to grasp, just like it was for the Apostles.
Meditating on the Resurrection during these times is a great opportunity to strengthen that muscle of faith, believing even when we do not see or fully understand this mystery. Reflecting on the post-Resurrection passages where the Apostles come to understand Jesus’s mission and their own can be an especially helpful exercise here.
At the same time, this mystery is also a great one to meditate on when we experience periods of consolation or connection with God too. In these moments, we can be grateful for the gift of faith and the joy that we feel in seeing and believing.
May we follow the example of the Apostles, embracing both the moments of doubt and clarity as chances to grow in the virtue of faith.
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(1) 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19
(2) 8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34
(3) 9:22, 18:31-33
