2523. Having described how Christ appeared to the holy women, the Evangelist now tells of his appearance to the apostles: 2523. Positis apparitionibus Christi factis mulieribus, in parte ista agit Evangelista de apparitionibus factis apostolis, et first, his appearance at Jerusalem before all except Thomas; primo de apparitione qua simul omnibus in Ierusalem apparuit, excepto Thoma; second, his appearance when Thomas was present: and after eight days (John 20:26); secundo de ea quae facta est, Thoma praesente, ibi et post dies octo etc.; third, the events near the Sea of Tiberias, after this, Jesus showed himself again (John 21:1). tertio de ea quae facta est quibusdam specialiter iuxta mare, XXI capitulo postea manifestavit se etc. About the first, he mentions two things. Circa primum duo ponuntur. First, the apparition of the Lord; Primo Domini apparitio; second, the doubts of the disciples, at now Thomas, one of the twelve (John 20:24). secundo discipulorum dubitatio, ibi Thomas autem etc. Three things are done regarding the first: Circa primum tria ponuntur. first, we see our Lord appear: Primo Domini apparitio; second, we see a duty imposed on the apostles, he said therefore to them again: peace be with you. secundo officii iniunctio, ibi dixit eis, pax vobis etc.; third, our Lord gives them a spiritual gift, when he had said this, he breathed on them. tertio spiritualis muneris collatio, ibi haec cum dixisset, insufflavit etc. He does three things about the first: Circa primum tria facit. first, he mentions the circumstances of Christ’s appearance; Primo ponit apparitionis circumstantias; second, the details of the appearance: Jesus came and stood in their midst; secundo apparitionis continentiam, ibi venit Iesus etc.; third, the result of this, the disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. tertio apparitionis consequentia, ibi gavisi sunt discipuli viso Domino. The Evangelist mentions four circumstances in our Lord’s appearance to the disciples. Describit ergo apparitionem Dominicam discipulis a quatuor circumstantiis. First, he mentions the time of day, when it was late; Primo quidem ex horae descriptione, quia cum sero esset; second, what day it was, that same day; secundo ex diei designatione, quia die illa; third, the condition of the place, the doors were shut; tertio ex loci conditione, quia cum fores essent clausae; and fourth, the state of the disciples, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews. quarto ex discipulorum dispositione, quia erant congregati propter metum Iudaeorum. 2524. The time of our Lord’s appearance was in the evening; and there were two literal reasons for this. First, he wanted to appear when they were all together; consequently, he waited until evening, so that those who had been at various places during the day would be found together in the evening, when they gathered together. 2524. Fuit ergo hora apparitionis serotina: cuius duplex est ratio litteralis. Una, quia voluit simul apparere omnibus; et ideo praestolatus est usque in sero, ut qui dispersi erant de die, simul convenirent in sero: nam de nocte simul erant. Second, our Lord appeared to strengthen and comfort them. And so he chose a time when they would be more afraid and in need of comfort and strength; this was in the evening: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps 46:1). Alia ratio est quia Dominus eis apparuit ut confortaret eos. Illam ergo elegit horam qua magis stupentes confortatione indigebant: haec est sero. Ps. XLV, 2: adiutor in tribulationibus quae invenerunt nos nimis. There is also a mystical reason: for at the end of the world our Lord will appear to the faithful in the middle of the night when the cry is heard that the bridegroom is coming to reward them. And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to the steward: call the laborers and pay them their wages (Matt 20:8). Est etiam ratio mystica, quia scilicet Dominus in fine mundi apparebit fidelibus, quando media nocte clamor fiet: ecce sponsus venit, redditurus eis mercedem suam; Matth. XX, 8: cum sero factum esset, dixit Dominus vineae procuratori suo: voca operarios, et redde eis mercedem. 2525. The day Christ appeared was the very day on which he arose, for it was the evening that same day, the first day of the week, Sunday, concerning which, it is said, on the first day of the week (John 20:1). 2525. Dies apparitionis fuit ipsamet dies resurrectionis, quia die illa una Sabbatorum, scilicet dies dominica, de qua dictum est (supra hoc cap.) una autem Sabbati. In what way it is said, the first day of the week, has already been explained. Quare autem dicatur una Sabbatorum, iam dictum est. From the Gospels we can see that our Lord appeared five times on that day: once to Magdalene alone, which we just considered, and again to her when she was returning to the disciples with the other women, when they approached and held our Lord’s feet (Matt 28:9). The third time was to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13). The fourth time was to Simon Peter; but how, when or where he appeared we do not know, but just that he appeared: the Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon (Luke 24:34). The fifth time was when he appeared to all the disciples together in the evening, as John mentions here. This is the reason why we sing: this is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 118:24). Potest autem ex Evangeliis colligi, Dominum quinquies isto die apparuisse. Bis scilicet mulieribus, semel Magdalenae soli, de qua immediate supra, et iterum simul cum aliis mulieribus revertentibus; et tunc accesserunt, et tenuerunt pedes eius. Tertio vero apparuit duobus discipulis ipso die euntibus in Emaus, Lc. ult., 13. Quarto autem Simoni Petro. Sed quando et quomodo et ubi, non exprimitur, nisi tantum quod apparuit. Lc. ult., v. 34: surrexit Dominus vere, et apparuit Simoni. Quinto apparuit omnibus simul congregatis de sero, ut habetur hic. Et ideo cantatur: haec dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur in ea: Ps. CXVII, 24. We can also understand from these events that on the day of the general resurrection Christ will appear openly to all women, sinners, pilgrims, apostles and apostolic men, because every eye will see him, every one who pierced him (Rev 1:7). Per hoc autem datur intelligi, quod in die communis resurrectionis apparebit manifeste omnibus mulieribus, peccatoribus, peregrinis, apostolis, et apostolicis viris: quia videbit eum omnis oculus, et qui eum pupugerunt: Apoc. I, 7. 2526. The place is described as having the doors shut. The literal reason for this being that it was late, during the night, and also for fear of the Jews. From Christ’s point of view the doors were shut so he could show them his power by entering through closed doors. 2526. Conditio autem loci describitur per clausuram, dubia et timida; quia fores essent clausae: ad litteram propter tarditatem, quia nox erat, et propter metum Iudaeorum. Sed ex parte Christi, clausurae causa fuit ut manifestaret eis virtutem suae potestatis intrando ad eos ianuis clausis. 2527. Regarding this point, some say that to enter through closed doors is a property of the glorified body. They say that due to some inherent property in a glorified body, it can be simultaneously present in the same place as another body. Thus, this is accomplished without a miracle. 2527. Sciendum est autem circa hoc, quod secundum quosdam intrare ianuis clausis est de proprietate corporis gloriosi, quod dicunt per quamdam conditionem sibi inhaerentem posse esse cum alio corpore simul in eodem loco, inquantum est gloriosum: et hoc factum esse et fieri posse sine miraculo. But this position cannot stand, for the fact that a non-glorified human body cannot be simultaneously in the same place as another body is due to its very nature. Consequently, if the glorified body has an inherent ability to be in a place occupied at the same time by another body, it must be because it lacks the property which now prevents this in the case of a non-glorified body. But this latter property cannot be separated or destroyed from a body, since it is not a mathematical bulk, as they say, but the very dimensions of the quantified body through which it has a local position. Thus the Philosopher, when he argues against those who posit ideas and matter, asserts that even on the assumption that the entire region above the earth is a vacuum, no sense-perceptible body could exist there in the same place as another body because of their quantitative dimensions. Now no property of a glorified body can remove the dimensions from a body and have it still remain a body. Thus we should say that Christ did this miraculously, by the power of his divinity, and that whenever something similar happens with the saints, it is miraculous and requires a new miracle. Augustine and Gregory teach this explicitly. Augustine says: do you want to know how Christ could enter through closed doors? If you understood how, it would not be a miracle. Where reason falls, faith instructs. And he adds: he was able to enter with the doors shut, who was born without his mother’s virginity being taken away. So, just as Christ’s leaving the womb of his virgin mother was a miracle of his divine power, so was his entering through closed doors. Sed hoc non potest stare: quia quod corpus humanum non glorificatum, non possit simul cum alio corpore esse, inest sibi ex natura. Oportet ergo quod si corpus glorificatum dicatur habere in se proprietatem aliquam inhaerentem, quod possit simul cum alio corpore esse in eodem loco, quod excludatur ab eo illa proprietas qua nunc impeditur ne simul cum alio possit esse. Haec autem proprietas nullo modo est separabilis vel destructibilis a corpore, cum non sit mathematica corpulentia ut ipsi dicunt, sed ipsae dimensiones corporis quanti, quibus proprie accidit situs. Unde Philosophus arguit contra ponentes ideas et materias. Et quod dato etiam quod vacuum esset totum spatium super terram, adhuc corpus sensibile non posset esse simul cum illis, propter dimensiones quantitatis. Per nullam autem proprietatem corporis gloriosi possent removeri dimensiones a corpore, natura corporis remanente. Et ideo dicendum est, quod hoc miraculose Christus fecit virtute suae divinitatis; et quandocumque in sanctis simile contingeret, miraculosum esset, et per novum miraculum fit. Et hoc expresse dicunt Augustinus et Gregorius. Dicit enim Augustinus: quaeris quomodo per ostia clausa intrare potuit? Si comprehendis modum, non est miraculum. Ubi deficit ratio, ibi est fidei aedificatio: et subdit: ille quippe non eis apertis intrare potuit, quo nascente virginitas matris inviolata permansit. Sicut ergo ortus eius ex virgine matre virtute suae divinitatis miraculosus fuit, sic introitus iste. 2528. In the mystical interpretation we can understand that Christ appears to us when our doors, that is, our external senses, are closed in prayer: but when you pray, go into your room and shut the door (Matt 6:6). It is also a reminder that at the end of the world those who are prepared will be admitted to the marriage feast, and then the door will be shut (Matt 25:10). 2528. Mystice autem per hoc datur intelligi quod Christus nobis apparet quando fores, idest sensus exteriores, sunt clausi in oratione, Matth. VI, 6: tu autem cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum, et in fine mundi, quando quae paratae erunt, intrabunt ad nuptias, et postea claudetur ianua, ut habetur Matth. XXV, 10. 2529. We should imitate the conduct of the apostles, for they are described as gathered together. This too is not without its mystery: for Christ came when they were united together, and the Holy Spirit descended on them when they were united together, because Christ and the Holy Spirit are present only to those who are united in charity: for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt 18:20). 2529. Dispositio discipulorum describitur imitanda, quia congregati erant: quod quidem non vacat a mysterio. Christus enim ad congregatos venit, Spiritus Sanctus ad congregatos descendit: quia Christus et Spiritus Sanctus non nisi in caritate congregatis adsunt. Matth. XVIII, 20: ubicumque fuerint duo vel tres congregati in nomine meo, ibi sum in medio eorum. 2530. Now three things are mentioned about the appearance of Christ: 2530. Hic ponitur ipsa apparitio Christi quantum ad tria. the way he showed himself; Primo quantum ad Christi praesentiam quam exhibuit; the greeting he gave them; secundo quantum ad salutationem quam eis protulit; and the way he gave them definite evidence of his real presence. tertio quantum ad sui certam manifestationem, quam eis ostendit.