[Meditationes seu Contemplationes devotissimae]

Indeed, your resurrection, good Jesus, was our festival because it led us to immortality. It was, therefore, a festival of the angels because, by recalling us to heavenly things, it filled their number. It is a venerable solemnity because Christ rose from the dead. The power of the devil fell, the dark chains of hell were loosed, the scroll original: "cyrographum"; referring to the debt of sin of the ancient transgression was extinguished, the sting of death was blunted, and the hope of future resurrection for us was confirmed. You, therefore, faithful soul, if you have truly risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, so that just as Christ rose from the dead, so too may you walk in the newness of life.

Concerning the care of the sheep entrusted by the Lord to blessed Peter before his ascension

Our Savior truly demonstrated an ineffable effect of love for his spouse, the holy Church. Since he was about to withdraw his presence from his Church, lest he leave it desolate without a pastor and ruler to dwell visibly with it, he entrusted the care of all his sheep to one man, namely blessed Peter, that he might exercise the care of the whole Lordly flock in his stead. Before his ascension into heaven, he said to Peter: Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? And to Peter, who answered, You know, Lord, that I love you, Christ said: Feed my sheep. Concerning this, Chrysostom John Chrysostom, an early Church Father speaks thus: Peter received power over all that was the son's referring to the Son of God, not like Moses over one nation, but over the whole world, with the Lord saying: Feed my sheep. He says, Feed my sheep, not distinguishing these sheep from those. And blessed Bernard Bernard of Clairvaux in his second book of Consideration to Pope Eugene speaks thus to the apostle: You are the one to whom the keys of the kingdom of heaven have been handed over, to whom the keys have been entrusted. There are, indeed, other gatekeepers and pastors of flocks, but you are all the more glorious as you have inherited both roles the role of gatekeeper and pastor more differently than the others. Others have individual flocks assigned to them; to you, all are entrusted. You are the one pastor of all, not just of sheep, but of pastors as well. Whence this is proven by the Lord's question, where I do not say to bishops, but even to the apostles, the sheep are committed so absolutely and without distinction. If you love me, he says, feed my sheep. Whose? Of this one or that one, of this city, or region, or indeed kingdom? He says, Mine. It is clear that he did not designate any, but assigned all. He excepted nothing where nothing is distinguished. And perhaps the other apostles were present when, by committing the unity of the churches to one man, he commended it to all in one flock and one shepherd, according to that saying: One is my dove. For this reason, as blessed Cyril Cyril of Alexandria says, it is by reason? of the primacy which succeeds the most blessed ink blot?