Fourth Week

The Resurrection

The joy of Christ’s triumph over death. His appearance to his Mother.

Preparatory prayer

Ask God our Lord for the grace that all my intentions, actions and works may be directed purely to the service and praise of his Divine Majesty.

See the arrangement of the holy sepulchre, and the house of Our Lady, where she waits alone in prayer.

Ask for the grace to rejoice and be glad intensely at the great glory and joy of Christ our Lord.

See how his divinity, which seemed to hide itself in the passion, now appears and shows itself so wonderfully in the most holy Resurrection, through its true and most holy effects.
See how he appears to the Virgin Mary. Scripture does not say so, but it is understood, since it says he appeared to so many others, and common sense tells us he went first to console the one who had suffered most.
Notice the office of consoler that Christ our Lord carries out, and compare it with the way friends console one another.

Rejoice with Christ and his Mother, and ask for the grace to share in their joy and to bring comfort to others.

Adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola (1548).