In today's Gospel, we get a glimpse of faith under duress—faith that is tested, faith that wanes, faith that struggles. And it is safe to say that we all go through it, though perhaps in less dramatic ways. Yet, in a very striking manner, we see how even the Apostles went through it. These same Apostles who saw all the miracles, who lived with the Lord Jesus, who at the Last Supper heard Him prophesy that all of them would lose faith, quoting the prophet Zechariah: “The shepherd shall be struck, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zec 13:7).
And we read in today's Gospel from the evangelist Saint Mark that Saint Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been cast out by Jesus, went to His companions, who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they were ecstatic and happy—no, that is not what the text says. “When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe” (Mk 16:11). And then we are told that the two disciples on their way to Emmaus were also visited by our Lord. We know that on the way there, they too had a hard time believing, and Jesus reprimands them for this—all of them.
And I think at this point, all of this doubt begs the question: how, after seeing and hearing all the motives of credibility, did these eleven still not believe? Now, let us place ourselves in their shoes for a moment. They had spent three years with Jesus. They ate with Him, heard His words of everlasting life, and saw Him working unfathomable miracle after miracle. So how is it that there was a blockage in their faith? What was impeding them from believing? We would imagine that had we seen and heard everything they did, we would not only be convinced in our faith, but we would be ready to die as martyrs and to do all things for the Lord. So what gives? Why this unbelief and hardness of heart, which Jesus later rebukes in this Gospel after manifesting Himself to them?
What we have noticed is one of the most striking human features of the Resurrection narratives: the very men who saw everything still struggled to believe. This tension is not a weakness in the Gospel; it is actually part of its profound realism and theological depth. So why this blockage in their faith?
First of all, they were not expecting a resurrection like this. Even though Jesus foretold His rising, the Apostles did not yet understand what this rising from the dead could mean. Do you remember when He was coming down the mountain after His Transfiguration? He spoke to Peter, James, and John about how, three days after His death, He would rise again, and told them not to tell anyone. And we are told that they wondered what this rising from the dead could mean (cf. Mk 9:9–10).
Resurrection, for them, was a future collective event at the end of time. We know this from Saint Martha as well. When Jesus went to raise Lazarus from the dead, she said: “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day” (Jn 11:24). And Jesus said to her: “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25). You see how Martha had no concept of an immediate resurrection; it was always in reference to the final resurrection of the elect.
So when they hear the reports, their reaction is not irrational. It is the collision between expectation and reality.
Second, the Cross scandalized them. It shattered their hope. The crucifixion was not just sad—it was devastating. The Messiah they trusted was publicly executed and humiliated. And according to the Law, as we read in Deuteronomy, “cursed be anyone who hangs on a tree” (Deut 21:23). This created a deep interior contradiction: how could the one sent by God die in such a way? Their unbelief is not mere stubbornness; it is trauma mixed with theological confusion.
Another reason was fear and self-preservation. We remember that they were locked in the upper room. They were hiding, afraid of being arrested, ashamed of having fled, uncertain about everything.
Finally, they did not trust the witnesses—first Mary Magdalene, then the two disciples from Emmaus. “They did not believe them either” (Mk 16:13). This reveals something important: the Apostles were not gullible. If they were inventing a story, they would not portray themselves as unbelieving, nor rely on witnesses whose testimony had little weight culturally at the time.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, faith requires grace—not just evidence. We can have all the evidence in the world: the Shroud of Turin, the Eucharistic miracles—yet even these did not prevent Christ from being crucified, nor do they prevent us from sinning.
So it comes down to this: the discipline of our wills, through the grace of God, to bend our appetites to the will of God. Prayer is all-important, because without prayer, our faith will stumble and we will fall. But if we build our lives on the Word of Jesus, knowing that He is with us, that He is risen, then we are the most blessed of all men and women on the face of the earth.
Because we will know—just as the Apostles realized in that moment when Jesus appeared to them—that we do not need a bucket list. Life does not end for those who trust in Christ. He Himself is the sign of this.
Let us believe, my brothers and sisters. Let us believe, just as so many others did. Let us believe with our Blessed Mother Mary, who remained faithful at the foot of the Cross, only to rejoice eternally in His Resurrection.
Through her intercession, may Almighty God bless you this day with the grace to discern the presence of the Risen Christ in your life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Go in peace.
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