06/04/2026
After His resurrection, Mary Magdalene recognizes Jesus and reaches out in overwhelming joy. But He gently tells her: โDo not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, โI am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.โโ (John 20:17)
Yet soon after, to Doubting Thomas, Jesus says: โReach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.โ (John 20:27)
This beautiful contrast is not a contradiction, but a profound lesson in how the Risen Christ meets each soul according to its need.
Church Teaching & the Saints explain it this way:
โกSt. Thomas Aquinas teaches that Mary already believed with love, but she was still clinging to Christ in a familiar, earthly way โ as before the Passion. Jesus invites her to a higher, more spiritual faith: to recognize Him as the One ascending to the Father in glory, equal with the Father. Touch here symbolizes complete knowledge; Jesus wanted her to โtouchโ Him spiritually, not just carnally.
โกSt. Augustine beautifully reflects: Mary sought to touch Him as a man she had lost, but Jesus redirects her: โDo not touch Me in that wayโฆ believe in Me as equal to the Father.โ Her love was ardent, but needed purifying so she could proclaim the Good News rather than cling to the old relationship. The Ascension completes the work โ now we cling to Christ in faith, through the Church and the Sacraments.
โกSt. Gregory the Great and others note the contrast clearly: Mary already believed, so she was sent on mission immediately (โGo and tellโฆโ). Thomas doubted, so in mercy Jesus offered physical proof to strengthen his faith. Jesus deals tenderly with each heart โ purifying love for one, confirming belief for the other.
โกThe Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that the Resurrection inaugurates the definitive state of Christโs glorious body (CCC 645). Mary Magdalene, called the โApostle to the Apostlesโ by the Church (and by St. Thomas Aquinas and Rabanus Maurus), models for us the call to move from personal encounter to sharing the Resurrection with others.
In the words of the saints: Jesus purifies Maryโs love of any merely sentimental attachment (as Dom Guรฉranger reflected) so it becomes more perfect and spiritual. He meets Thomas right in his doubt so that faith may triumph.
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When doubt creeps in, the Risen Lord still invites us: โCome, touch My woundsโ through prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments.
Both Mary and Thomas show us that Jesus knows our hearts perfectly and gives each of us exactly what we need to grow in faith.
What about you? Has the Risen Jesus ever asked you to โlet goโ so He could lead you higher? Or has He met your doubts with gentle proof?
Share your thoughts or a favorite Easter reflection below! ๐
