Objection 1. It seems that our Lord spoke to other peoples than those Israelites in Judea, for He Himself said: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd" (Jn. 10:16). Since our Lord said that these sheep will hear His voice and that He will bring them in, this necessitates that our Lord personally appeared to those outside of the flock of the geographical region of Israel. Therefore, our Lord appeared to other peoples outside of Judea.
Objection 2. Further, it would be fitting for our Lord to spread the Gospel to those unable through the limitations of the age to receive the Gospel and come unto salvation, for this would be "good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3-4).
On the contrary, for the Apostle and Evangelist St. Mark says "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God" (Mk. 16:19). Since Christ ascended bodily into heaven, He did not appear bodily to other peoples.
I answer that, after His glorious Resurrection, Christ appeared to His Apostles and disciples for a period of forty days, proving to them that He had truly risen from the dead in bodily form, and not in a merely spiritual form. He also further instructed them in the truth of the divine Gospel, before ascending to the glory of the Father.
While it is the case that Christ has granted certain visions of Himself in special apparitions to holy men and women, such as St. Stephen, St. Christopher, St. Francis, St. Catherine, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Faustina Kowalska, and others, these were not in the body and were intended for the end of delivering private revelation either for the benefit of the individual saint or for the giving of pious devotion. Christ shall not appear again in the flesh until His Second Advent at the End of the Age.
Response to Objection 1. When our Lord said "other sheep I have," he was referring to the Gentiles, Israel here not referring to the borders of Judea, but to the Jewish people located there.
Further, if Christ must have personally appeared to His other sheep, then He must also have appeared personally to all the Jews scattered throughout the world in the diaspora. However, since He ministered only to the Jews in Judea, the objection fails.
Response to Objection 2. The affirmation that "Outside the Church, there is no salvation" is not to be understood that those who, by no fault of their own, are excluded from the glory of God. "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation," (CCC 847) as the Apostle says: "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves... their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another" (Rm 2:14-15).
Further, if this argument is to be accepted, so too should the legends and superstitions of other sectarians, who claim that Christ traveled to England, India, Russia, and elsewhere be accepted. However, since these appearances are mere superstitious legends, these are not to be believed.
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