[Meditationes seu Contemplationes devotissimae]

"Who is this one, so strong, so splendid, so preeminent, and so terrible? ¶ That world which was subject to us and always paid us the tributes of death, never sent us such a dead man, never sent such gifts to the miserable. Who, therefore, is this one who enters our borders so intrepid, and not only does not fear our torments, but in addition frees others from our chains? He himself puts darkness to flight by his splendor; he has broken all the prisons, cast out the captives, loosed the bound, and turned their mourning into joy." Attend, furthermore, faithful soul, how, after those cruelties of the infernal ones, without any delay, at the command of our Lord and Savior, all the iron bars were broken. And behold, suddenly, innumerable peoples of the saints who were held captive in death, having fallen to the knees of their Savior, beseech him with lamentable prayer, saying: "You have arrived, whom we, longing, hoped for daily. You have arrived, whom the law had announced to us would come. You have arrived, giving while living in the flesh, indulgence to the sinners of the world. Loose the dead, the captives of hell; you have descended for us into the lower regions. ¶ Do not be wanting to us when you have returned to the heavens. Place the title of glory in heaven, place the sign of victory in hell." Consider, faithful soul, how, after the heard prayers, after the confessed laws, after the tormentors were submerged in the deep abyss, our Savior is led out, laureated, from the lower regions. He sits joyfully with the prince of all the blessed, that processional which the holy prophet, seeing from afar, says: "You also, by the blood of your testament, have brought forth the bound ones from the lake." For let the Catholic Church throughout the whole world rejoice, because Christ, the Lord, the King, having truly broken the strength of death, treading upon Tartarus with his foot, loosed the miserable ones from their pain.

Concerning the resurrection of Christ

He comes, plainly, good Jesus, so that rising from the dead, glorious and immortal, not only to bring consolation to your disciples, for whom your death brought much sorrow and grief. But truly also for the commendation of divine justice, to which it belongs that those who humbled themselves for God should be exalted; it was most just that you, who for the sake of charity and obedience humbled yourself even unto death, should come to be exalted in a glorious resurrection. It behooved, moreover, for the strengthening of our faith, which is greatly confirmed by your resurrection. Truly, if you, good Jesus, had not risen from the dead, as the apostle argues, our preaching would have been rendered vain, and our faith empty. It is congruent, also, for the lifting up of our appearance, because with you, our head and light, rising, we, the members of your body, do not doubt that we shall rise again.