The Virgin Mary in the Resurrection of the Lord: a dogmatic-liturgical analysis

None of the four evangelists mentions Mary among the witnesses of the paschal morning, an absence that contrasts with her explicit presence at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-27) and that constitutes one of the central problems of paschal Mariology.

The Eucharistic liturgy celebrates the resurrection of the Lord and the joy that it spreads, radiating throughout the whole world, in the nascent Church, in Mary. The Paschal Virgin is an example of faith for the disciples who confess the risen Christ.

The Pauline argument of 1 Cor 15 and the dogmatic centrality of the Resurrection

“If Christ has not risen from the dead, our faith is vain and we are still in our sins” (1 Cor 15:13, 17). The cry of the apostle Paul challenges the faithful, showing them the abyss of despair into which they would fall if the resurrection-event had not happened: the uselessness of faith would be a harmless act. On the contrary, the poisoning of sin would be dramatic, incurable during the existential span on earth and without hope in the dimension of incorruptibility that no one would attain, for there would be no rest.

Paul’s dramatic argument resounds as a warning to our cultures confined within a horizontal dimension. It offers a perspective of liberation to our depressed, pessimistic, defeatist mentality, an enemy of living man and of the future. Victory over all this, and much more, becomes certain for us through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord has truly risen! Unlike before his death, when a myriad of people saw and heard Jesus, in his new risen identity only the disciples see and hear him during the ‘Paschal Lent’ or in the forty days in which they share hours and table fellowship with him, or returned to the place of their first encounters at the lake. It is not enough to hear and admire the Master Jesus: for each one of us it is essential to have the experience of the risen Jesus, accumulating in ourselves seeds of resurrection.

The silence of the gospels: Mary, the empty tomb, and the silent presence on the paschal morning

None of the four evangelists speaks of Mary, the mother of the crucified Jesus, going up to her son’s tomb at dawn on the day of his resurrection. The indelible memory in the history of Easter fixed the memory of Mary of Magdala and of the other Mary (who is certainly not the mother) running to that tomb, she who together with his mother witnessed the crucifixion and burial of the Lord. Among the reasons for the omission, its truthfulness may be presumed: the mother remained that dawn in the house where the apostle whom Jesus loved had received her. Not even among those who meet the Risen One is the mother listed by any canonical source. Nevertheless, Mary was a certain presence in the resurrection of Jesus. There are not a few events of history and of faith that are true, even if they do not appear in the chronicles.

The placement of the Matthean passage under the form “Holy Mary in the resurrection of the Lord” recalls the Lucan narrative of the angelic announcement and of the encounter with Elizabeth. Mary at Nazareth welcomes with satisfaction the announcement that the fullness of time has arrived, when God sends His own son born of a woman. Mary is urged to carry the message to the house of Zechariah. At the tomb of Jesus, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary receive the angelic announcement that the fullness of time has been fulfilled, because the humanity of Jesus, the Lord and Messiah, is reborn to a new life in the resurrection, and in this event they announce it to the apostles. These announcements are so astonishing that they leave no one indifferent and, in fact, they frighten. But the sweet certainty comes: “Do not be afraid”. 

The paschal typology: from the “Do not fear, Mary” of the Annunciation to the morning of the Resurrection

At Nazareth, Mary emerges from fear because she has found grace with God. At the tomb, the women cease to fear because the word of Jesus, familiar and consoling, blossoms into great joy.

Thus the two births of Christ are united: from Mary and from the tomb, both announced by the angel, both with the fundamental truths: life comes from God and to Him it is directed. There was Mary, the holy city, the new Jerusalem.

To deepen the reflection on Mary’s role in the Resurrection of the Lord, consult the encyclical Redemptoris Mater of John Paul II, which contemplates Mary’s maternal presence in the paschal mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian apparitions, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.