In the article of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Catechetical Instructions on the Apostles’ Creed titled “The third day He arose again from the dead,” he wrote: “God descended from heaven and became incarnate to teach us heavenly things.
“Once it was difficult to know about the punishments of hell: (quoting Wis 2:1), ‘no man hath been known to have returned from hell,’ as it is said of the wicked person. But this cannot be said now, since He came back from the region of hell to teach us about it. It is, therefore, necessary that we believe not only that Christ was made man, and died, but also that He arose again from the dead.”
Scripture tells us of three individuals who “arose from the dead.” How does Christ’s resurrection differ?
First, Christ’s resurrection differed from that of all others in its cause. According to Aquinas, “Christ, on the contrary, arose by His own power, because He was not only Man but also God. (Quoting John 10:18) ‘I lay down My life, that I may take it again. … And I have power to lay it down; and I have power to take it up again.’”
“Christ truly died, but not because of weakness or of necessity but rather of His own will and by His own power,” Aquinas continued. “By that same power whereby He gave up His soul, He received it again; and hence the Creed says, ‘He arose again,’ because He was not raised up as if by anyone else.”
Second, Christ rose to a glorious and incorruptible life. The others “died” again.
Third, it was different in effect and efficacy. “Because of his resurrection, all shall rise again. But also note that Christ by His Passion arrived at glory (quoting Luke 24:26), ‘Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and so to enter into His glory?’ And this is to teach us how we also may arrive at glory (quoting Acts of the Apostles 14:22), ‘Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.’”
Finally, His resurrection was different in point of time.
“Christ arose on the third day; but the resurrection of the others is put off until the end of the world,” Aquinas said. “The reason for this is that the resurrection and death and nativity of Christ were for our salvation, and thus He wished to rise again at a time when it would be of profit to us.
“Now, if He had risen immediately, it would not have been believed that He died; and similarly, if He had put it off until much later, the disciples would not have remained in their belief, and there would have been no benefit from His Passion. He arose again, therefore, on the third day, so that it would be believed that He died, and His disciples would not lose faith in him.”
What can we learn from the resurrection?
“Firstly, let us endeavor to arise spiritually, from the death of the soul which we incur by our sins, to that life of justice which is had through penance,” Aquinas wrote
St. Thomas makes a habit of going back to the sacraments, implying frequent communion and confession.
“Let us not delay to rise until our death, but do it at once, since Christ arose on the third day,” Aquinas wrote. “You will not be able to consider what pertains to salvation when weighed down by illness, and, moreover, by persevering in sin, you will lose part of all the good which is done in the Church, and you will incur many evils. Indeed, the longer you possess the devil, the harder it is to put him away, as St. Bede tells us.”
Also, he said, “Let us rise up again to an incorruptible life in that we may not die again, but resolve to sin no more”
Finally, Aquinas said, “Let us rise again to a new and glorious life by avoiding all that which formerly were the occasions and the causes of our death and sin. ‘As Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4).’ This new life is the life of justice which renews the soul and leads it to the life of glory.”
Do others see you walking in newness of life? Are you living a glory-filled life? Many will see you before they hear you. Be an example. And frequent the sacraments.