But the risen Jesus’ Appearances constitute the other half of the primordial Easter proclamation. Our Holy Father points out that the Greek verb for these Appearances is óphthe (офθη), a word which precisely signifies "made himself seen." In other words, after the Resurrection Jesus did appear repeatedly, though he "made himself seen"

 to those with the eyes of faith, as it were. What is needed in post-Resurrection times is a new kind of vision, spiritual eyesight, the kind of vision foreshadowed by Jesus’ cure of the man born blind (See Jn 9:1-12). One is reminded here again of Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s remark in his classic, The Little Prince, that what’s essential is invisible to the eye.

In a series of profound meditations preached in 1983 before Pope John Paul II and the Cardinals of Rome, our present Holy Father acknowledged that controversy over Christ’s Resurrection is again quite intense, not only outside, but also inside the Church. The situation is being magnified by general doubt concerning long accepted values, as well as confusion about the nature and force of Tradition. (What is central? What is only peripheral?) As Catholics, of course, we have the Church to guide us. But even beyond the fundamental issues, the problem of translating the Scriptures "not only linguistically but also conceptually" (in Pope Benedict’s own words) often leads to "stammering," since events transcending the commonplace cannot easily be accurately described.

One indisputable, albeit mysterious truth requiring credence is that Jesus "made himself seen" not in the fashion of Lazarus or the young man of Naim, both of whom were restored to ordinary life, only to eventually experience real death. One could say that Christ’s Resurrection was not simply from "clinical" death. Not at all; Christ rose to what the Italian poet Manzoni called la seconda vita. Fully alive, he belongs, Cardinal Ratzinger said, "to a sphere of reality which is normally withdrawn from our senses," so much so that he is recognized only by those to whom he grants it. (ibid.)

Moreover, the risen Lord "makes himself seen" by virtue of spiritual vision. He was indeed the same Christ who multiplied the loaves, walked on the water, brought a dead girl back to life, pardoned the woman who had washed his feet, carried the Cross and died on Calvary. Yet, at the same time, he has now moved and spoken "beyond the region of what is physically and chemically possible." (ibid.)