Community in Mission, Monsignor Charles Pope: There is a passage in Matthew’s Gospel which says something quite astonishing but then leaves us starved for more information:
[When Jesus died on the cross], the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.” (Mt. 27: 52-53).
It is a very mysterious text that does not lend itself to simple or satisfying explanations. Was this reported elsewhere in literature from time? Why do the other Gospels not mention something so startling? Who rose? How many? What happened after they rose? Did they go back to life in Jerusalem or did they appear for only a moment? Read in full here.
