Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost 

of Christ, sometimes the least among the faithful understand something first such as Magdalene 

understanding the Resurrection and the leaders understand afterwards. Thus the Apostles and disciples did 

not believe Magdalene at first (Mk 16:11); only later did they realize that she spoke the truth. 

    Pope John Paul II once expressed the opinion that the Virgin Mary was the first to know that Jesus had 

risen from the dead. This opinion does not contradict the teaching of Sacred Scripture that Jesus appeared first 

to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection. The Virgin Mary  knew first, but Mary Magdalene met and saw 

Jesus first, after He rose from the dead. Jesus appeared first, in person (not merely in a vision) and in His 

Resurrected body, to Mary Magdalene. 

The Empty Tomb 

    According to Blessed Anne Catherine, the Roman soldier who had pierced the side of Jesus on the Cross 

with a lance (Jn 19:34) was named Cassius and was present at the tomb with the other guards.

117

 The other 

guards were not Roman soldiers, they were temple guards under the direction of the chief priests and Pharisees 

(Mt 27:65). Cassius was not under the direction of the Jewish leaders, but was appointed by Pilate to keep him 

informed of the events at the tomb. 

    Immediately after the angel rolled back the stone from the tomb, the temple guards fell to the ground, 

stunned or unconscious (Mt 28:4).

118

 But Cassius remained conscious and alert. He saw the angel roll back the 

stone. He entered the tomb first, before Mary Magdalene, the other women, and Peter and John. Cassius saw 

and touched the empty grave clothes of Jesus Christ. But he did not see Jesus.

119

 Cassius went and informed 

Pilate of what he had seen. Cassius believed in the Resurrection and told Pilate so.

120

 Cassius believed in the 

Resurrection before the Apostles, even though he was but a Roman soldier, not a Jew or a disciple. The 

Apostles were chosen by Jesus Christ for their appointed roles and tasks, but they were not chosen for every 

role, nor for every task (1 Cor 12:4 31). It is just so, even today, within the Body of Christ. 

    What happened to Cassius in later years? Blessed Anne Catherine tells us that, at the time of the 

Crucifixion, he was 25 years old and an officer in the Roman army.

121

 She also states that he was soon after 

baptized with the name `Longinus,' and that he eventually became a deacon.

122

 Interestingly, Josephus 

mentions a Cassius Longinus in his work  The Antiquities of the Jews. This Cassius Longinus was chosen by 

Claudius to be the successor to Marcus as president of Syria.

123

    It is possible that the Cassius Longinus described by Josephus is the same Cassius Longinus who pierced 

Christ's side with a lance. By the time that Cassius was appointed president of Syria, about the fourth year of 

Claudius' reign (

A.D.

 29), the Cassius of the Crucifixion would have been about 35 years old and have served 

as an officer in the Roman army for over ten years (if he remained in the Roman army). There was another 

Cassius who lived, over 75 years earlier, during the time of Julius Caesar and Herod the great. That Cassius 

was for a time ruler over Syria.

124

 Since the Romans often named the child after the father or the grandfather, 

Cassius Longinus could well be the grandson (or other relative) of that earlier Cassius. The Romans  often 

chose rulers in part based on their parentage (for example, Claudius wanted to immediately put Herod 

Agrippa II in charge of Herod Agrippa I's kingdom, even though he was still quite young).

125

 Thus Cassius 

Longinus would have been a suitable choice to govern Syria for Rome, both because of his experience as a 

Roman soldier and because his relative formerly ruled Syria. Of course, it is also possible that these were two 

different men named Cassius Longinus (who were perhaps related to one another). 

Who Saw Jesus When? 

    Mary Magdalene saw Jesus first after the Resurrection (Mk 16:9). Then, according to Blessed Anne 

Catherine, the three holy women, Mary Cleophas, Joanna, and Salome, met the risen Lord Jesus.

126

 The next 

to see Jesus was either Peter, or, James and Thaddeus. Blessed Anne Catherine tells us that James the Less 

and Thaddeus saw the Lord, then she tells us that she once saw Peter startled by seeing the Risen Lord, but she 

does not say in which order these two events happened.

127

  Once I saw Peter, as they went along, suddenly 

start and tremble, as if he had just got a glimpse of the risen Savior. 

128

 Sacred Scripture, in the first letter of 

45