Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 6. De laeta et pia apparitione Christi coram

Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 6. De laeta et pia apparitione Christi coram

In her closed chamber, she prayed to her mother. I bless you and give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of God, incarnate and born of the Virgin Mary for our salvation, for your glorious and truly wonderful resurrection made today, and especially for your most joyful and most secret appearance, by which you deigned to appear to your most holy mother Mary in the secret chamber of her house while she was praying and longing for your coming, now confidently and eagerly expecting you first before all your holy friends and beloved holy women, to appear to her most kindly, to greet her most reverently, and to console and strengthen her most sweetly, and to fill her with joy from your bodily presence in the robe of joy and glory of immortality. It is both pious and just to feel gratitude for your goodness and to believe in honor of your most holy mother, who is always compassionate and merciful in all your works. This is something that all faithful people should believe with devotion: you commanded that parents be honored and that the sorrowful be comforted. For you visited your most holy mother first of all, who was deeply saddened by your passion, and with your presence you restored her from all pain and sorrow, bringing her great joy. And although she did not go with other devout women to visit your tomb, she did not omit this out of laziness or fear, or from excessive sorrow, but remained at home, knowing for certain that you would rise again and firmly hoping that you would come to her on the third day, while in the meantime she devoted herself to holy prayers, eagerly awaiting your coming with great longing. And so she was the first to be worthy to see you, whom she loved and longed for above all others, in whom she believed and in nothing doubted. If blessed Mary is called and praised, because she believed the words of the angel Gabriel when he announced to her the sacred mystery of the Incarnation, how much more should she be beatified and praised, since she firmly believed in all your works and stood steadfastly for her son, born of her, even when others still doubted and did not waver in anything. O how filled with ineffable joy was your holy mother Mary at that hour when she saw you, her son, adorned in a shining and glorious body, surpassing the brightness of the sun and the beauty of all the stars. O how greatly and joyfully did his spirit rejoice in you, Jesus, his God and Savior, above all the days of his life in this world. O how diligently your glorious body was gazed upon by his eyes, which before had grieved over your harsh scourging and the cruel blows it endured, and saw you being affixed to the cross and pierced by the soldier's lance in your right side, and finally lying dead and sealed in the tomb. Therefore, today, as you appear in glory, Mary has become more joyful than usual and is filled with new consolations, for she suffered more intensely in your passion than anyone else and wept more abundantly, moving many to weep with her. Then you fulfilled your word, Lord, which you promised for the comfort of your apostles at the Last Supper, and you truly showed it to your afflicted mother, saying: "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you, and I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you."^✦ You did well, most excellent Jesus, in visiting your beloved mother with filial affection, greeting her reverently, speaking to her sweetly, comforting her cordially, presenting her with a joyful face, and removing all sadness and painful tears from her eyes. For when you are seen alone, all pain and groaning flee; when you speak, the spirit of comfort rests in her heart, more than it does in the apostles, filling her with joy. You who once turned water into the best wine at the wedding, now returning from the dead and having conquered your enemies with greater power and miracle, have transformed death into life, the cross into glory, a mother's tears into joy, and the disciples' fear into everlasting happiness. You didn't send an angel, or an archangel, or Michael, or Gabriel, or Raphael, your solemn messengers, nor any noble soldiers of this world, handsome in appearance, adorned with gold and silver and precious gems, to visit your mother, the queen of heaven, our beloved lady. Instead, you yourself, King of Glory, Jesus Christ, came personally in the morning before dawn, with no one knowing and no messenger preceding you, to visit and comfort your most blessed mother, who was eagerly awaiting your return from the tomb with her full faith, as she anticipated your glorious body. He knew that everything had to be fulfilled just as you had said before with your own mouth, and that the holy prophets had spoken about your passion and resurrection a long time ago. Truly, this is the day of joy that you have made today, more glorious and celebrated, holier and happier than all the days of the year, rightly and most worthily to be counted among the days of the saints. I praise and honor you with all your saints in heaven and with all your devoted faithful on earth for the sweet conversation and secret discourse you had with your most beloved holy mother Mary in her chamber, closed off from all the noise of the world, sharing with her the divine mysteries of the kingdom of God, the joys of paradise, the choirs of angels, and the souls of the saints redeemed from hell, and situated in the beauty of paradise with Enoch and Elijah. Oh, if only I could have been there to hear your sweet words and to stand by the window in secret, listening closely to every word that my Lord Jesus Christ spoke with His mother about the heavenly joys of the citizens of the celestial realm, with no outsider present to perceive it. Oh, how my heart would have rejoiced in the Lord if I could have held onto even a small word from Him for my comfort in this dangerous exile of the world. And perhaps such things happen that cannot be spoken of by man, but they should be kept in secret and meditated upon with joy in the heart. Blessed is the one who knows this joy and transcends all worldly things through contemplation, who occupies themselves all day with Jesus and Mary, and who doesn’t care or think about whatever happens in the world. It's astonishing that no one among mortals was worthy to participate in this conversation, but only the holy angels and the souls of the righteous, who followed their Lord with all reverence and joy everywhere. For it was such a high and heavenly gathering and the sweetest visit in that humble dwelling, that neither the apostles were allowed to enter at that time nor could they have grasped the marvelous words that Jesus, glorified by the Father, was discussing with his blessed mother, Mary, full of grace. Therefore, I humbly commit all these things to you, Lord Jesus, and I ask for forgiveness for all my sins and neglects, you who reveal your secrets to little ones and nourish the dry with heavenly bread. O most gracious Jesus Christ, who after your bitter passion and joyful resurrection appeared to your most holy mother Mary with great brightness, serene and joyful, and filled the desolate and sorrowful with ineffable and new joy, have mercy on me, a poor beggar and sick person, often severely troubled in this world's exile. Here before you today, I humbly bow down and knock at the door of your holy mother with great affection, asking you to grant me the grace to visit me intimately in my time of affliction, to console and strengthen me, and to free me from all evil sorrow and vain joy. Now, therefore, with a new fervor and greater devotion to your praise, ignite and preserve my heart, so that, freed from all earthly vanity, I may learn to seek the eternal, contemplate the divine, and rejoice solely in you. O, who will give me the grace to think more deeply about these things and to stay longer here with the Lord Jesus, so that the whole world with its lovers may fade from my memory more quickly? O, how I wish, sweetest Jesus, that you would please me above all, along with your sweetest mother Mary and your holy angels, and that you would set my heart on fire within, visit me often, bless me abundantly, keep me in devotion, and lead me securely to heavenly joys after the burdens of this life. O you who live, etc.