Easter Vigil
There are no liturgical celebrations in the Church on Saturday. In the Middle Ages, an erroneous interpretation led to anticipating the Easter Vigil, the “Mother of all vigils”, to early on Holy Saturday morning. Pope Pius XII in 1951 and in 1955 reestablished the ancient order, which was then put into the new Missal in 1970. In this most holy night, the “Church waits, keeps vigil for the resurrection of Christ and the celebration of the sacraments.”
The Service of Light consists of the blessing of the fire, the lighting of the paschal candle and the entrance into the church, up until the chanting of the Exultet.
The Liturgy of the Word, consists of listening to seven readings from the Old Testament, one reading from Saint Paul, and the Easter Gospel. The story of salvation unfolds God’s faithfulness regarding his people.
The Baptismal Liturgy, consists of the Sacrament of Baptism for adults, or the blessing of the water, followed by the renewal of baptismal promises and the sprinkling with the blessed water.
The Eucharistic Liturgy, through which, with the celebration of the sacrament, we are made contemporaries of Jesus through His command, “Do this is memory of me”, and our response, “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.”
Easter Sunday is already celebrated during the night. The Masses on Easter Day are a prolongation of joy, of awe, aware that what is “essential is invisible to the eyes”.
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Mt. 28:1-10; see Mk. 16:1-7; Lk. 24:1-2).
Jesus, the Risen One, has given us the gift of fraternity
He is alive! And He walks with us. The gift that Jesus gave us by dying on the cross and rising on the third day is that of a new humanity founded on fraternity. It is a gift that Jesus Himself had to ask the Father for because fraternity is not a given, but is constructed day after day: “as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe” (Jn. 17:21). Fraternity is not created in a laboratory, it is not constructed around a table, but only in the Lord is it possible to make it happen: “That they also may one be in us….” Not only “that they may be one,” but “in us”, Jesus says. Otherwise, it would be reduced to a beautiful friendship, with who knows what organization or non-profit, as Pope Francis says. Instead, fraternity must flow from “being” in God who is Love, the only one who teaches us to love one another “until the supreme gift of life.”
Fratelli tutti
The gift of Easter, of the Risen Jesus, helps us become fratelli tutti [all of us brothers and sisters] to the point of wanting that we grow mutually in unity so that those who look at us can exclaim: “How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together as one!” (Ps. 133:1). How can we fail to recognize that this is the greatest obstacle that keeps many from approaching the Church which is marked even more so today by its many weaknesses.
A gift, a commitment
Beginning with Christ Jesus, dead and risen, we learn to walk and grow in His Love and to witness to Him with a commitment that reflects Him, in a time when we allow ourselves to get caught up in superficial slogans and only at an emotional level. It means to witness to Him with our words, knowing how to say well what we need to say, without giving in to gossip or denigrating others. It means to witness to Him through our actions, aware that it is specifically through love lived even to the end, following Jesus’s example, that we show how we are different from others – and not because we are privileged, or out of vainglory, but because we allow ourselves to be inspired and led by the merciful love of God. May the joy of the Risen Jesus be a stimulus to everyone to learn how to love each other well: in the family, at work, playing sports, in free time, in the parish…. Jesus, the Lord, is risen. He loved us first while we were still sinners, and He has made us capable of loving with His own love. It is up to us to believe it. It is up to us to show it with our lives.
Prayer
You are risen
as you promised, Lord!
You are alive and you are with us!
Life has conquered death.
Love has conquered sin.
Faith has conquered doubt.
Hope has conquered desperation.
Love has conquered selfishness.
Prudence has conquered impulsiveness.
Justice has conquered iniquity.
Temperance has conquered instinctiveness.
Fortitude has conquered fear.
Jesus, Son of God,
Our Lord and Brother,
You conquered
because You entrusted Yourself to the Father,
because You placed Yourself into His hands.
Jesus, my Friend and Brother,
help me to entrust myself, to place myself into the hands
of Your Father and our Father.
Help me to go beyond, far beyond,
to arrive where You are.
Help me to live Your Risen Life!
(Father Andrea Vena)
