Among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Cons. Ev., iii, 19: The wording sufficiently shows that the veil was rent just when He gave up the ghost. If he had not added, “And, lo!” but had merely said, “And the veil of the temple was rent,: it would have been uncertain whether Matthew and Mark had not inserted it here out of its place as they recollected, and Luke had observed the right order, who having said, “And the sun was darkened,” adds, “And the veil of the temple was rent in twain;” or, on the contrary, Luke had returned to what they had inserted in its place.
de Cons. Ev., iii, 20: It is no contradiction here that Matthew says, that “The centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, feared when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done;” while Luke says, that he wondered at the giving up the ghost with a loud voice. For when Matthew adds, the things that were done, this gives full scope for Luke’s expression, that he wondered at the Lord’s death, for this among the rest was wonderful.
We might ...
Or, The veil of the temple is rent, because from this time the nation was dispersed, and the honour of the veil is taken away with the guardianship of the protecting Angel.
“The earth quaked,” because it was unequal to contain such a body; “the rocks rent,” for the Word of God that pierces all strong and mighty things, and the virtue of the eternal Power had penetrated them; “the graves were opened,” forthe bands of death were loosed. “And many bodies of the saints which slept arose,” for illumining the darkness of death, and shedding light upon the gloom of Hades, He robbed the spirits of death.
It is not doubtful to any what these great signs signify according to the letter, namely, that heaven and earth and all things should bear witness to the ir crucified Lord.
As Lazarus rose from the dead, so also did many bodies of the Saints rise again to show forth the Lord’s resurrection; yet notwithstanding that the graves were opened, they did not rise again before the Lord rose, that He might be the first-born of the resurrection from the dead. "The holy city” in which they were seen after they had risen may be understood to mean either the heavenly Jerusalem, or this earthly, which once had been holy. For the city of Jerusalem was called Holy on account of the Temple and the Holy of Holies, and to distinguish it from other cities in which idols were worshipped. When it is said, “And appeared unto many, "it is signified that this was not a general resurrection which all should see, but special, seen only by such as were worthy to see it.
Observe, that in the very midst of the offe...
These women thus watching the things that are done are the most compassionate, the most sorrowful. They had followed Him ministering, and remained by Him indanger, shewing the highest courage, for when the disciples fled they remained.
In Serm. de Pass., non occ.: The sudden commotion in the elements is asufficient sign in witness of His venerable Passion, “The earth quaked, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened.”.
Serm. 66, 3: From this example then of the Centurion let the substance of the earth tremble in the punishment of it Redeemer, let the rocks of unbelieving minds be rent, and those who were pent up in these sepulchres of mortality leap forth, bursting the bonds that would detain them; and let them show themselves in the Holy City, i.e. the Church of God, as signs of the Resurrection to come; and thus let that take place in the heart, which we must believe takes place in the body.
Whence with good reason by the Centurion is denoted the faith of the Church, which, when the veil of heavenly mysteries had been rent by the Lord’s death, immediately asserts Jesus to be both very Man, and truly Son of God, while the Synagogue held its peace.
But some one will ask, what became of those who rose again when the Lord rose. We must believe that they rose again to be witnesses of the Lord's resurrection. Some have said that they died again, and were turned to dust, as Lazarus and the rest whom the Lord raised. But we must by no means give creditto these men’s sayings, since if they were to die again, it would be greater torment to them, than if they had not risen again. We ought therefore to believe without hesitation that they who rose from the dead at the Lord's resurrection, ascended also into heaven together with Him.
The Gentile centurion and those with him believed because of these great signs, but the Jews, who had clearly heard the prophets and the law, remained unbelieving — such an evil thing is malice! And this centurion later bore witness to Christ. The women who beheld these events, who were the most tender of all in their compassion [and so ought to have been less able to endure the sight of the Lord’s suffering], and were of the gender that was condemned [because of the sin of Eve], were the first to enjoy this vision of good things. The disciples fled while the women were stalwart. "Mary the mother of James and Joses" means the Theotokos, the Virgin Mother of God, for James and Joses were the sons of Joseph by his first wife. And since the Theotokos was called the "wife" of Joseph, she is rightly called the "mother" of his children, meaning "stepmother." The mother of the sons of Zebedee was named Salome. They say that she also was a daughter of Joseph.
