Easter Vigil 2026
Why Do You Seek the Living among the Dead?
Introduction: May you continue to celebrate the Shalom-Peace of
the Risen Lord in your life and may that empower you to be faithful witnesses
of the relationship God has re-established with all of humanity through the
death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
As we transition from the death of Jesus to the nothingness
of Saturday, to the joy of the Lord Jesus’ rising, we see a glimpse of our own
transition from earthly existence to the joyful, heavenly relationship with God
for all eternity. Jesus has provided the Way for us to move into the fullness
of life that awaits us with God, since Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. Let us continue to celebrate our renewed relationship with the God Who is
the relationship of Abba-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Today (Holy Saturday) is a day of nothingness. During the daytime,
liturgically speaking in the mainline Church tradition, nothing happens. It is
a day of sorrow, a day for reflection. It is a day between the death of Jesus
(Good Friday) and His Resurrection (Easter). There are no readings for Saturday
because in the Catholic tradition, nothing happens on this day.
Things change when the sun sets and, according to Jewish and
Christian tradition, Sunday begins. In the darkness which begins Sunday
(Saturday night after sunset), Christians assemble to keep a vigil for the Lord
Jesus. We reflect on the story of salvation, from the beginning of the world to
the third day after Jesus’ death. We wait in hopeful anticipation that the Lord
Jesus will keep His promise and rise. We look forward to new life, not just for
Jesus, but also for all believers, especially those who would be welcomed into
the Christian community on this vigil above all vigils, this liturgical
celebration that surpasses all liturgical celebrations.
Within the Catholic and other mainline Christian traditions,
the Easter Vigil is different from any other liturgical celebration. The service has four parts: 1) The Liturgy of Fire; 2)
The Liturgy of the Word; 3) The Liturgy of Water and Baptism and Initiation; 4)
The Liturgy of the Eucharist. (Some services will reverse the order of the
first two parts.)
In the darkness at the beginning of this vigil service, a
fire is enkindled. It is the Light of the Risen Christ. From this new fire, the
Paschal (also called “Easter” or “Christ”) Candle is lit. The Light of Christ
is carried in procession into the darkened church.
As the Light of Christ is welcomed into the darkened church,
each participant has her/his candle lit from the Paschal Candle. Soon, all are
enlightened by the Light of Risen Lord. Joyfully the Exsultet is sung as all
stand in the Light of Christ. The Exsultet is a hymn to the Risen Lord. It
speaks of the necessary sin of Adam which led to the promise of a Redeemer. It
proclaims the fulfillment of Hebrew scriptures in the coming of Jesus, the
Light, the Life of the World. [For the words of the Exsultet click the
following link: (the left column is the Latin text, the middle column is the
new translation and the right column is the older English translation):
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/04/a-side-by-side-look-at-exsultet-texts/.]
In the second part of the
celebration – the Liturgy of the Word – the assembled faith community listens to their history being
retold. Just as the Israelites retold, remembered, and relived (zikaron) their
story (Haggadah) each Passover, we tell our story – God’s story. We make
present the events related in the story. We see God’s plan at work as the story
is told. The story of salvation consists of seven readings (each with a
Responsorial) from Hebrew scripture. (For pastoral reasons, these seven
readings can be reduced to a minimum of three [usually # I. and # III and one
of the readings from the Prophets.) These readings tell our story, beginning
with God’s creation of the world until the final promise of a savior. (I will
reflect briefly on each of these readings following the description of the
Easter Vigil.)
After hearing our story as summarized in Hebrew scripture,
we joyfully proclaim the Glory to God, with bells ringing, as we transition to
the Christian scriptures and the continued story of our salvation. Although the
lights could be turned on earlier, some wait until this time in the Vigil. It
is then that the full splendor of the church is demonstrated as all lights are
turned on and flowers and decorations become visible. We hear St. Paul’s words
summarizing the whole paschal mystery: our dying with the suffering Christ, so
that we might share in the life of the Risen Christ. Joyously the A-word is
sung for the first time in over 40 days. Alleluia is the word that proclaims,
“Praise to the LORD” Who is now risen and living among us. This joyous word is called
the Resurrection Word. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus’ resurrection is then
proclaimed. This year, the Gospel is from St. Matthew.
The Liturgy of Water and
Baptism begins with asking the Holy Ones (Saints), who have proceeded us into the glory of the Reign
of God, to join us as we prepare to invoke God’s blessing on the new water of
Baptism and welcome new members into our Christian community.
We recall how water has had such a powerful position in our,
or rather God’s, salvation history: from the waters of creation, to the waters
of the Flood, to the waters of the Red Sea, to the waters of the River Jordan.
Water has been a sign of change from death to life. The Paschal Candle of Risen
Lord Jesus is placed into the waters, and the Holy Spirit is breathed into the
water as we ask God to bless the water which will bring new life to those who
will be plunged (baptismenos) and washed in the water. A profession of faith is
asked first of those who would be joining the Christian community and then of
the community as a whole. We recommit ourselves to turning away from sin and
evil and the deepening of our relationship with the God Who is Abba-Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
Those who were asking to be a part of this Christian
relationship are called to the waters of baptism and are “plunged” (baptizein)
into the water where they die to sin and are raised to the new life with the
Risen Lord Jesus. They are then clothed with a white garment to show their
putting on Christ. They are given their own candles that are lit from the
Paschal Candle of the Risen Lord to symbolize they have been enlightened by
Christ and are expected to walk as children of the Light. In receiving the Sacrament
of Confirmation, the newly baptized are strengthened and confirmed by the Holy
Spirit using Chrism, the oil of dedication, the oil of the Anointed One, the
Christ.
The final part of the Great
Vigil is the celebration of Eucharist. We continue to “eucharistize”
(give thanks to) God the Abba-Father by remembering (re-enacting - zikaron)
Jesus’ giving of Himself as our food and nourishment. For the first time our
newest members of the community join us at that table of the Lord Jesus. They
join us in the prayer of thanks and in receiving the Risen Lord. The vigil ends
with joyful dismissal to take what we have celebrated and share with others the
message of the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia!
First Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:2
‘God saw everything that he had made and it was very good.’
Commentary: The
two slightly different accounts of the creation are not meant to be historical:
they can’t be! One difficulty is that it is now firmly established
scientifically that the universe existed for countless billions of years before
human beings existed to record what was happening. Another, more obvious,
difficulty is that the sun and the moon are said to have been created only on
the fourth day: what could be meant by a ‘day’ without sunrise and sunset?
Nevertheless, they are true, in that they teach us significant truths, not so
much about what happened, but about ourselves today, our relationship to the
Creator, whom we call ‘God’, to our environment and to one another.
The author who set up the account in six days plus one was
obviously eager to show that the Sabbath Day was part of the very constitution
of the world. If even God rests on the Sabbath, then so should we. God has
noted that the creation of each day is good and at the end of the sixth day God
notes that it is all very good, and we can join our thanks to the knowledge
that creation is very good. If God needs to relax and reflect periodically, so
do we; it is in the nature of things.
The order of creation is not historical but real because
logical. First come light and dark without which we could see nothing. And the
Hebrew day begins in the evening, a survival from ancient worship of the moon,
which rises at that time. The primeval, chaotic waters are already there, and
into these God inserts, like an enormous bubble, the two other main elements,
the flat plate of earth and a dome to keep out the waters – with
sluice-gates in the dome for the rain, and holes in the earth for springs of
water to spring up from below. Then come the fixed things of earth and sky.
There is nothing fixed or stable in the sea, but vegetation on the earth. In
the dome are planted sun, moon and stars; some had regarded them as gods, but
our author merely gives them the service of marking out the time for festivals.
The pace of the creation account increases notably when we
come to the things that live and move in the three major elements of sky, sea
and earth, particularly the last. God sees that even slugs and worms are
good – and indeed each has a vital part to play in the ecological system
devised by God. But far the most important comes in the final climax.
Before God creates the human being, male and female
together, there is a little consultation, ‘Let us make Adam in our own image’,
as though God is consulting his heavenly court. Then the narrative springs into
poetry or at least rhythmical prose. There is no getting round the linguistic
difficulty that Adam must be either masculine or feminine, but at the same time
Adam is both male and female, to be as one, both sexes created as one common
entity, knit together in equality. ‘Adam’ here is a common noun; it has no
gender, and denotes the human race as a whole. At least there is not ‘he’ and
‘she’, and when Paul comes to describe Christ as the Second Adam it is as a new
creation of the single being, made up of men no less than women.
Together they have dominion over the earth, but this is the
same creative dominion that God has. Their task and being is to fill the earth,
to complete God’s act of creation, by reproduction to be fruitful and multiply,
in the image of God to care for the earth and continue this act of creation.
There is no hint of any right to destruction or exploitation. There is even no
killing for food, for every green plant is given for food; it is only after the
Flood (and by that time there has been plenty of evil in the world) that
permission is given to kill: ‘every moving thing that lives shall be food for
you’, not only the green plants. Till then the peace of nature remain
undisturbed.
It is not a story of what happened long ago, but an analysis
in story form of how we are now, how we stand before God and God before us, how
we stand to one another (particularly male and female), how we stand to the
rest of God’s creation. And the last word is God’s, who blessed the seventh day
and hallowed it.
Psalm104:1-2a. 5-6. 10, 12. 13-14. 24, 35c
Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Psalm 104 is a majestic hymn that praises God as the Creator
who clothes Himself in light and establishes the cosmos in wisdom and order.
The psalmist contemplates creation—earth, waters, springs, animals, and
vegetation—as sustained continuously by God’s providential care. It presents a
theology of creation where nature is not divine, but a living testimony to
God’s glory, generosity, and ongoing activity. The concluding doxology calls
the soul to bless the Lord, inviting all creation into a harmony of praise
while rejecting sin that disrupts this divine order.
Second Reading: Genesis 22:1-18
The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith.
Commentary: The
command to sacrifice the son so long expected is the supreme test of Abraham’s
faith. It has shocked and bewildered commentators. The agonising story is told
with delicacy and love, delaying over the detailed instructions to the
servants, stressing the father’s care for his son, as he gives the son the wood
to carry and himself keeps the potentially hurtful fire and knife. Abraham’s
reluctance is shown by his non-committal answer to the boy’s chirpy, innocent
and obvious question. The two go on in silence and the narrative slows
increasingly as the dreaded moment approaches. The silence becomes oppressive
as the father spends time arranging the wood and binding the boy before lifting
him to put him on top.
Can Abraham’s obedience to the divine command be justified?
Did he really intend to kill his son? Can such blind obedience ever be
commanded by God or accepted by his servants? The story has been explained as
intended to prohibit in Israel the child-sacrifice practised by their
neighbours (1 Kings 16.34; 2 Kings 3.27 – at which the Israelites were so
disgusted that they withdrew from a siege) and even in the dark days of
idolatry in Jerusalem itself (2 Kings 16.3; 21.6). This purpose of the story would
not, however, exonerate Abraham’s acceptance of the order. It can only be that
Abraham’s faith in the LORD was such that he trusted in some such divine
intervention as did in fact occur at the latest possible moment. Such faith
would coincide with his own reluctant delaying tactics.
Psalm 16:5, 8. 9-10. 11.
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
Psalm 16 expresses deep trust in God as the believer’s
chosen portion and secure inheritance, affirming that life finds its stability
in His presence. The psalmist proclaims unwavering confidence that God will not
abandon him to death but will preserve him in divine faithfulness. It
culminates in the joy of communion with God, where fullness of life and eternal
delight are found in His presence.
Third Reading: Exodus 14:15-15:1
The people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground.
Commentary: It is
quite impossible to establish where this act of divine care for the People of
God occurred. One basic difficulty is in the names: the Hebrew text of the
Bible speaks of Yam Suph, the Sea of Reeds, which nicely fits the scenario of
the marshy lakes in the Suez area. On the other hand, the Greek text speaks of
‘Thalassa Erythra’, the Red Sea, which would designate the water separating
mainland Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula. Nor is it possible to reconstruct the
route from such texts as Numbers 11. We can only accept that this foundational
event of divine protection can no longer be placed under historical scrutiny.
Canticle: Ex 15:1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 17-18.
Hymn of victory after crossing the Red Sea
The Canticle from Book of Exodus 15 is a triumphant hymn
celebrating God’s decisive victory over oppression in the Exodus from Egypt. It
portrays the Lord as a divine warrior who defeats evil powers, revealing His
strength, justice, and saving intervention in history. The imagery of the sea
swallowing the enemies highlights God’s protection of His people and His
sovereignty over creation. The canticle concludes with a vision of God leading
His people to His holy dwelling, affirming His eternal kingship and covenantal
faithfulness.
Fourth Reading: Isaiah 54:5-14
‘With everlasting love the Lord, your Redeemer, will have compassion on you.’
Commentary: This joyful song celebrates the return of Israel
to God’s favour. It strikes all the notes of the close relationship between God
and Israel. There is Isaiah’s special name for God, majestic yet intimate, ‘the
Holy One of Israel’, used throughout the Book and evocative of the initial
vocation-vision in the Temple in Isaiah 6. The Lord is represented as the go’el
of Israel, the closest family member, bound by family love to redeem a family
member from disaster. The faithful love, the love of a mother for her child, is
promised to remain as sturdy as the hills themselves.
But the chief images are those of covenant and of marriage.
Even the covenant with Noah, the covenant of the rainbow, is invoked. The
covenant has been the grounds of Israel’s being since the covenant with Abraham
in the form of an ancient treaty, the covenant with Moses in the experience of
Sinai, the covenant with David expressed in the promises of his prophet Nathan,
and finally the new covenant embracing every individual personally, promised by
the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Now this ‘covenant of peace’ will never be
shaken.
Equally vibrant is the image of renewal of married love.
Ever since the prophet Hosea refused to let go of his beloved wife, despite her
repeated infidelities, the unbreakable marriage bond has been the symbol of
God’s enduring love. The symbolic names of Hosea’s children, ‘Unpitied’,
‘Not-My-People’ are to be reversed to ‘Pitied’ and ‘My People’. These are the
themes which run through the joyful reading: Jerusalem will be expanded like a
tent, full to bursting, whose tent-pegs have to be spread out and whose
guy-ropes have to be lengthened.
Psalm 30:2, 4. 5-6. 11, 12a,13b.
I will extol you, LORD, for you have raised me up.
Psalm 30 is a song of thanksgiving in which the psalmist
praises God for deliverance from distress and the restoration of life. It
highlights the contrast between sorrow and joy, affirming that God’s anger is
momentary but His favor brings lasting life and renewal. The transformation
from mourning into dancing reveals God’s power to reverse human suffering into
rejoicing. The psalm concludes with a commitment to continual praise,
recognizing God as the source of healing, salvation, and enduring hope.
Fifth Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11
‘Come to the waters; hear, that your soul may live.’
Commentary: The
reading from Isaiah is positively bursting with ideas. To begin with, Isaiah
proclaims the invitation to the rich messianic banquet. Perhaps we have had
enough of rich food for the moment! But the picture of the Israelite relaxedly
quaffing wine under his fig-tree was an important part of the expectation of
the kingdom of God. Perhaps the social aspects of the banquet are more
important in Jesus’ frequent teaching about the banquet, and especially the
warmth of the host and the company of the saints. But at Cana he does change
the water into huge quantities of wine!
Secondly, there is the aspect of witness. The son of David
is a witness calling to God the nations that do not know him, or the word of
God which issues from the mouth of God and does not return without
accomplishing his task. By our baptism we too are constituted witnesses for the
world, accomplices of the word of God. But witnesses to what? The last part of
the reading centres on the forgiveness of God, for God is nothing if not a
forgiving God, and the covenant nothing if not a covenant of forgiveness. The
baptism of John, which Jesus himself underwent, is an invitation to change our
ways and return to God.
Canticle: Is 12:2-3. 4b-d. 5-6.
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
The canticle from Book of Isaiah 12 is a joyful hymn of
trust, proclaiming God as the source of salvation and strength. It invites
believers to draw “water with joy” from the wells of salvation, symbolizing the
abundance of divine grace given to His people. The song calls the community to
proclaim God’s deeds among the nations, making His saving power known to all.
It concludes with exultant praise, recognizing God’s presence in the midst of
His people as the Holy One who brings joy and redemption.
Sixth Reading: Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
‘Walk towards the shining light of the Lord.’
Commentary: The
Book of Baruch purports to have been written by Baruch, the scribe who wrote
for the prophet Jeremiah and was taken to Egypt with him after the Sack of
Jerusalem in 586BC. However, the Book is closely related to much later works.
The present text is in Greek, but there was probably a Hebrew original, which
could date from any time before the final destruction of the Temple in 70AD. It
is not mentioned by any other work till Irenaeus (c. 170AD). The spirituality
of the Book is typical the early post-exilic period, with its awareness of sin
and shame.
This passage is accordingly a call to repentance, but it is
not so much a call for us to escape from our present dejected state, but rather
a call for us to escape to a universe which is so full of joy, delight, wisdom,
harmony, that it is a wonder that it does not explode from sheer happiness.
Thus the whole reading is full or air and light. We are told
to open the door of our cell and get out not because of the unpleasantness of
what we have found ourselves locked into, but because of the delight of the
wide world which lies outside it.
Psalm 19:8. 9. 10. 11.
O Lord, you have the words of eternal life.
Psalm 19 celebrates the perfection and life-giving power of
God’s law, describing it as trustworthy, pure, and enlightening the human
heart. It emphasizes that divine commandments are not burdensome but sources of
wisdom, joy, and moral clarity. The psalmist values God’s word as more precious
than gold and sweeter than honey, highlighting its incomparable worth. It
concludes by affirming that obedience to God’s law brings guidance,
transformation, and the promise of spiritual reward.
Seventh Reading: Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
‘I will sprinkle clean water on you and I will give you a new heart.’
Commentary: This
promise of restoration is part of the blessing promised to the mountains of
Israel. It comes to a climax in the promise of a new heart and a new spirit.
This is more complete even than Jeremiah’s promise that the Lord will bring a
new covenant, writing the Law upon their hearts (Jeremiah 31.31-34), for in
Ezekiel he will remove their heart of stone and give them a new heart of flesh,
thus leaving no trace of their previous defilement.
The motivation is significant: the Lord will do this for the
sake, not of Israel, but of his own great name. In the ancient world names had
especial importance. The imposition of a name implied ownership of the person
or object named. In the Acts of the Apostles new Christians are baptised in the
name or even into the name of Jesus; this gives them new significance. The
change of a name implied change of function: so in giving Simon-Peter this new
name Jesus makes Peter the Rock of the Church. In the same way the imposition
of a new name, ‘Israel’ at the crossing of the River Jabboq is part of Jacob’s
conversion-experience (Genesis 32.28).
By the humiliating
fall of Jerusalem the name of Israel’s God was shamed. Could not this God
protect his own people? Was the name of the God of Babylon more powerful?
Therefore by the re-establishment of the people of Israel, the name of the God
of Israel would be re-established too, and would again receive fitting honour.
Psalm 42:3. 5b-d. Psalm 43(42):3. 4.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
Psalms 42–43 express a profound spiritual longing for God,
portraying the soul as thirsting for the living God amid distress and
separation. The refrain “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” reveals an inner
struggle, yet it is anchored in hope and trust in God’s saving presence. The
prayer seeks divine light and truth to lead the believer back into communion
with God, especially in worship. It culminates in a renewed resolve to praise
God, who is both the source of joy and the ultimate hope of the soul.
Epistle Romans 6:3-11
‘Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.’
Commentary: Paul
has just explained to us how Christ is the Second Adam, by his obedience
undoing the disobedience of Adam. The reaction may be, ‘But what has that to do
with me? How does it benefit me?’ The answer here given is that we were
baptised into Christ’s death so that we are joined to him and will be
transformed by his resurrection. The Greek baptizo means ‘plunge into’: we are
plunged into Christ’s death. Our life is now Christ’s life, though not yet
transformed like his. Paul coins a whole series of new words beginning with
‘syn-’ (a formation similar to ‘synchronized’ or ‘synthetic’) to show how our
life is merged into Christ’s. The most expressive of all is that we are
synphytoi with Christ: this word is used in medical terminology to express how
two parts of a broken bone grow together again and merge into a bond stronger
than the original. By my baptism into Christ’s death, his death becomes mine.
Christ’s story becomes my story. Christ’s strength becomes my strength.
Christ’s body becomes my body. Christ’s risen life becomes my risen life.
Psalm 118:1-2. 16-17. 22-23:
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Psalm 118 is a hymn of thanksgiving that proclaims God’s
enduring mercy and steadfast love toward His people. It celebrates divine
victory, affirming that the Lord’s saving power brings life and deliverance
even in the face of adversity. The image of the rejected stone becoming the
cornerstone reveals God’s surprising way of exalting what is rejected, a theme
rich in theological significance. The psalm concludes in awe, recognizing that
God’s works are marvelous and worthy of continual praise.
Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10
‘He has risen and he is going before you to Galilee.’
Commentary: The
Gospel is a challenge and at various times people feel the need to protect
themselves from it: Christians sometimes, pagans more often. One favourite
technique of self-defence is to tell oneself (perhaps not in so many words)
that the Gospels are a literary creation rather than an honest attempt at
narrating exactly what happened. That way biblical scholars can study without
listening, making careers out of deciding who influenced whom and who wrote
which bit. The rest of us can defend ourselves from life-changing truths by
reading the stories the way we would read any other work of literature.
The synoptic Gospels’ narrative of the Resurrection shows
how the Gospels themselves defend themselves make such evasion impossible.
First, there is their inconsistency. Whenever Matthew, Mark
and Luke are witnesses to an event, they are slightly discordant more often
than not. In this case – Who exactly goes to the tomb? Who is it they meet
there? One man in white, two men in brilliant clothes, or an angel? The
inconsistency is patent. On the other hand, anyone who has been involved in
police investigation will tell you that when witnesses disagree, that shows
they are all being truthful. It is when witnesses all agree in every detail that
you know that someone has been coaching them. So here, as throughout the
synoptic Gospels, we can be certain that we are not looking at a constructed
narrative but a genuine effort to give a truthful account despite the fact that
everyone has remembered things slightly differently.
Matthew in particular includes the earthquake and the
terrified guards. If I had been Matthew I would have left them out. They come
in after the beginning of the story and break it up, and even raise questions
that are not answered: where were the women while all this was going on? How
did they react? Anyone out to write a good persuasive story would see that this
drama is extraneous to the core story and would be better excised. But Matthew
is not a writer and he is not setting out to write a good persuasive story. A
writer thinks “If it works, put it in.” As an evangelist Matthew is not allowed
to do this. He has to think “If it is true, put it in.” And so he does.
The second place in the resurrection narrative where anyone
setting out to construct a good persuasive foundation for a new religion could
have done it better is the whole mention of the women. In the culture and even
in the legal system of the time women were less reliable than men. Their
testimony in a court of law was arithmetically defined as carrying less weight
than a man’s. Throughout the Church’s history, indeed, one of the taunts
against Christianity has been that it is something only silly old women believe
in.
Anyone setting out to invent a new religion would take care
to (a) make its foundation documents consistent with each other and (b) base
its greatest claim of all on the evidence of people whose authority everybody
accepts, not women.
And yet the Gospel does neither of these things. This is
because the Gospel is not intended as the building-block of a new religion. The
Gospel simply wants to say what happened: to tell the truth.
Meditation: Do you
receive the news of Jesus' resurrection with skepticism and doubt or with faith
and joyful wonderment? On Sunday morning the women who had witnessed Jesus
death on the cross went to the tomb to pay their last tribute to a dead body.
The disciples thought that everything had finished in tragedy. Neither were
ready to see an empty tomb and hear the angel's message, "Why do you seek
the living among the dead? 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in
Galilee, 7 that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,
and be crucified, and on the third day rise." (Luke 24:5-76). The angel
urged them to believe that Jesus had indeed risen just as he had promised. In
joy then went to share the good news with the other disciples.
Is it any small wonder that it was the women, rather than
the apostles, who first witnessed the empty tomb and the resurrected Lord?
Isidore of Seville, a 7th century church father comments on this: "As a
woman (Eve) was first to taste death, so a woman (Mary Magdalene) was first to
taste life. As a woman was prescient in the fall, so a woman was prescient in
beholding the dawning of redemption, thus reversing the curse upon Eve."
The first to testify to the risen Lord was a woman from whom Jesus had cast out
seven demons.
What is the significance of the stone being rolled away? It
would have taken several people to move such a stone. And besides, the sealed
tomb had been guarded by soldiers! This is clearly the first sign of the
resurrection. Bede, a church father from the 8th century, comments:
"[The angel] rolled back the stone not to throw open a
way for our Lord to come forth, but to provide evidence to people that he had
already come forth. As the virgin's womb was closed, so the sepulcher was
closed, yet he entered the world through her closed womb, and so he left the
world through the closed sepulcher." (From Homilies on the Gospels 2,7,24)
Another church father remarked: "To behold the
resurrection, the stone must first be rolled away from our hearts" (Peter
Chrysologus, 5th century). Do you know the joy of the resurrection?
It is significant that the disciples had to first deal with
the empty tomb before they could come to grips with the fact that scripture had
foretold that Jesus would die for our sins and then rise triumphant. They
disbelieved until they saw the empty tomb. Bede explains why the Risen Lord
revealed himself gradually to the disciples:
"Our Lord and redeemer revealed the glory of his
resurrection to his disciples gradually and over a period of time, undoubtedly
because so great was the virtue of the miracle that the weak hearts of mortals
could not grasp [the significance of] this all at once. Thus, he had regard for
the frailty of those seeking him. To those who came first to the tomb, both the
women who were aflame with love for him and the men, he showed the stone rolled
back. Since his body had been carried away, he showed them the linen cloths in
which it had been wrapped lying there alone. Then, to the women who were
searching eagerly, who were confused in their minds about what they had found
out about him, he showed a vision of angels who disclosed evidences of the fact
that he had risen again. Thus, with the report of his resurrection already
accomplished, going ahead of him, the Lord of hosts and the king of glory
himself at length appeared and made clear with what great might he had overcome
the death he had temporarily tasted." (From Homilies on the Gospels
2,9,25)
One thing is certain, if Jesus had not risen from the dead
and appeared to his disciples, we would never have heard of him. Nothing else
could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with
joy and courage. The reality of the resurrection is the central fact of the
Christian faith. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us
"eyes of faith" to know him and the power of his resurrection. The
greatest joy we can have is to encounter the living Lord and to know him
personally. Do you celebrate the feast of Easter with joy and thanksgiving for
the victory which Jesus has won for you over sin and death?
Lord Jesus Christ, you have triumphed over the grave and you
have won new life for us. Give me the eyes of faith to see you in your glory.
Help me to draw near to you and to grow in the knowledge of your great love and
power.
fresh bread: “Get rid of the old yeast to make of yourselves fresh dough, unleavened loaves, as it were; Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.” —1 Corinthians 5:7
Alleluia! Jesus has risen! He’s alive! Alleluia!
For many Christians, the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection
from the dead isn’t “news” anymore. It’s old. They’ve heard it (or not heard
it) for years. Instead of being evangelized to Christianity, they have been
immunized to it. They mistakenly think that the lukewarm version of Easter
they’ve received is all there is to the Good News.
We must get rid of the old yeast of sin. We must repent of
compromising with the values of the world and of thereby letting the risen
Christ be upstaged by NCAA basketball, major league baseball, spring break,
chocolate Easter bunnies, or even marshmallow chicks. We must proclaim Jesus’
Resurrection with power by making major financial moves and lifestyle changes —
all because of the risen Christ (see Acts 4:33-35).
Jesus died and was buried because of our sins. Unless we
break out of the tomb of sin, we will not be witnesses for the risen Christ but
anti-witnesses. We will conceal the risen Lord rather than reveal Him.
Therefore, we must ask for the forgiveness of our sins through His name (Acts
10:43). On the first Easter Sunday evening, Jesus offered us forgiveness (Jn
20:23). We must repent if we are to be credible witnesses for the risen Jesus.
Prayer: Father, on
this first day of Easter, I renew my baptismal promises; I give my life to You.
“Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, set your heart on what
pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand.” —Col 3:1.
Praise Jesus! He is risen! The tomb is empty! Alleluia!
The personal action for
today: As I reflect on the
history of salvation as celebrated in the Easter Vigil, what stands out the
most for me? Do I experience the plan of God being revealed through the
readings and the liturgy, and in my life? How can I die more to sin and live a
life that proclaims the Good News of the Risen Lord Jesus? What can I do to
help others experience the salvation that comes through Jesus’ death and
resurrection?
Holy Saturday & Easter
Vigil: Holy Saturday is the day of sacred silence, when the Church
waits in hope at the tomb of Christ. The world seems still, as the Savior lies
in the grave, sharing fully in the mystery of human death. Yet this silence is
not emptiness, but a pregnant silence filled with divine promise. As the
ancient tradition says, Christ descends to the dead, bringing light into the
darkness of Sheol.
It is the hidden work of God, where salvation unfolds beyond
human sight and understanding. The disciples experienced confusion and fear,
but God was already preparing victory. Holy Saturday teaches us that even when
God seems absent, He is powerfully at work. Our own moments of waiting,
suffering, and uncertainty become places where grace is quietly active. As
night falls, the Church gathers for the Easter Vigil, the “mother of all
vigils,” celebrating the triumph of light over darkness.
The new fire is blessed, and the Paschal candle is lit,
proclaiming that Christ is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12). The Exsultet
resounds, inviting heaven and earth to rejoice at the victory of the risen
Lord. The long history of salvation is proclaimed, showing God’s faithful love
from creation to redemption.
In baptism, believers are united with Christ’s death and
resurrection, as St. Paul says, “We too might walk in newness of life” (Rom
6:4). The Vigil moves us from darkness to light, from death to life, from
despair to hope. Holy Saturday thus becomes the bridge between the Cross and
the Resurrection, calling us to trust in God’s hidden yet victorious love.