THE CATECHIST'S BLOG

Saint John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary

"And it happened that, while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."
"They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews."

When He is born, He is wrapped in swaddling clothes and submits to the laws of nature. When He dies, He is still subject to our nature.

"Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, and saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed."

When He rises, He is free from our laws. Saint John's "He saw and believed" is very eloquent. He surely took part in the burial, and seeing the empty linens without the body, just as they had left them, made him understand that this could only happen if the body rises and passes through the fabrics.

Rafa Dionis
2025-12-27