Did it really happen, and why does it matter? These two questions are at the heart of Sandra M. Schneiders’ (IHM) talk on the resurrection, presented at the Marymount Institute as the inaugural event in the Mary Milligan Lecture in Spirituality series.

Published as an essay in book form by the Marymount Institute Press and Tsehai Publishers, The Resurrection poses a number of questions about the meaning of Easter as a religious holiday.

“What does it mean to say that Christ is risen? Does it mean that he is immortal, a spirit alive with God somewhere outside of earthly time and pace (which most Christians believe is true of all who die in faith), or did something unique, that has happened to no one else, happen to Jesus on the first Easter? And, if so, what was it, and why is this event unique significant for us?” asks Schneiders in her introduction to the book. 

Sandra M. Schneiders has been a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary since 1956. She received an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Detroit in 1967; an S.T.L. in Patristics from Institut Catholique, Paris in 1971; and an S.T.D. in scripture and spirituality from Gregorian University, Rome in 1975.

She is currently professor of New Testament and Spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She has written numerous articles and several books, including: Selling All: Commitment, Consecrated Celibacy, and Community in Catholic Religious Life (2001); Finding the Treasure: Locating Catholic Religious Life in a New Ecclesial and Cultural Context (2000); With Oil in Their Lamps: Faith, Feminism, and the Future (2000); Written That You May Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (2003); and The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture (1999).