Jun 3 Tue
Did the risen Jesus appear to his Blessed Mother?
What role did she play during the resurrection of her Son?
Why do the Gospels not record this appearance of Christ to his Mother?
The misguided belief in "Scripture alone," which asserts that everything must be found in the Bible to be accepted, limits the understanding of the Scriptures to their literal meaning. This perspective reduces the history of Christianity to what is merely written on paper, transforming the Christian faith into a religion of the book rather than a way of life.
The apparition of the risen Christ to his mother is not recorded in the Gospels. Do we have to stop believing in it because of that?
St. John himself teaches us, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, that if they were written down in detail, I think that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." John 21:25
Even the Scripture testifies to many other appearances of Christ to His disciples that are not detailed in the gospels.
There are Theological and biblical reasons why Christ must have appeared to his mother. In the first place, He appeared to his Mother before the other apostles because of her firmness in the faith: “And blessed is she who believed, for what was spoken to her from the Lord will be fulfilled." Luke 1:45.
Mary's faith was much greater than that of her apostles, and she knew her Son would overcome death and rise again, thus, she did not need proof of his resurrection.
Scripture gives us a glimpse of Jesus appearing to Mary in the first place: “After the Sabbath was past, at the dawning of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher."
Curiously, only Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb, and it was not the Virgin Mary who, as we know, was also at Calvary and knew where Christ was buried. Why is it not said that the mother of Christ went to the tomb? How could a mother not go to embalm her Son?
Simply because Christ had already appeared to her.
Matthew 28:6 says that the Lord was not in the tomb. And his mother never accompanied the women. We can conclude that Christ had already visited her long before, and it is possible that He was still with her.
The Tradition of the Church teaches this; innumerable Fathers of the Church and saints have defended and believed that Christ appeared to His Mother, yet one may legitimately think otherwise.
Jesus’ most holy Mother was greatly afflicted by his Passion. With faith and hope of his resurrection, she prayed and asked her Son to hasten his coming. While she was with these desires, Christ our Lord suddenly must have entered and manifested Himself with all his glory and clarity. How happy and glorified the Virgin must have been at the sight of such a glorious sight! What sweet conversation of the Son with his Mother!