Fr. Esteban Salas y Castro
Deo gratias, alleluia, alleluia (1769)
For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. Through the Resurrection of Christ and the defeat of death, men once more entered into relationship with Heaven. Moreover, woman, who had entered into a deadly plan with the Devil, now enjoyed a life-giving conversation with the Angel.
For an angel came down from heaven, and rolled back the stone. Scripture did not say rolled, but rolled back the stone. When rolled forward it was proof of His Death. When rolled back, it was proof of His Resurrection. Blessed is the stone which could both conceal Christ and reveal Him! Blessed is the stone which opens hearts no less than the sepulcher! Blessed is the stone which produces faith in the Resurrection, and a resurrection of faith; which is a proof that God’s Body is risen!
Here, the order of things is changed. Here, the sepulcher swallows death, not a dead man. The abode of death becomes a life-giving dwelling. A new kind of womb conceives One Who is dead and brings Him forth alive!
[From De Vita Contemplativa, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, Italy. Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana]
