Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 19, 2025 - Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter - ABC
[Use at least three, or up to seven readings from the OT, but always include #3: 1) Gen 1:1-2:2 or 1, 26-31a 2) Gen 22:1-18 or 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 3) Exod 14:15-15:1 4) Isa 54:5-14 5) Isa 55:1-11 6) Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4 7) Ezek 36:16-17a, 18-28; NT Reading: Rom 6:3-11 Response after the Epistle: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 [refrain: triple Alleluia""]"; Gospels for Years A, B, C: A- Matt 28:1-10 B- Mark 16:1-7 C- Luke 24:1-12,58]Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. [Romans] "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day." And they remembered his words. [Luke]
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The celebration of the sacred triduum is a journey through life into death and back into life. But it is not just the single life of one person, Jesus Christ. It is the celebration of all life because death becomes simply a moment in life and not the end of life. The life of Christ becomes our life. The principal symbol and emphasis of the Easter Vigil is baptism and its full meaning. It is not just an initiation ritual but a new birth into hope.
Most of us Catholics will not recall our baptism because it occurred when we were infants. Those who participate in the OCIA programs (and their sponsors) have a unique and privileged experience of Easter. One does not simply become a member of an organization called the Catholic Church. One becomes part of the Risen Body of Christ, which we celebrate in the Eucharist. The full significance of the sacrament of Baptism is celebrated at the Vigil. At the celebration of the Eucharist at the Vigil and all the other Masses on Easter Sunday, we are asked to renew our profession of faith. But we also renew our HOPE that the newness of life given in our baptism continues beyond the experience of physical death. It is this HOPE that sustains us in times of suffering and in times of joy. We express it in living our neighbor as our self. Because Christ is risen, so are we! This is why we proclaim: ALLELUIA!
The length of the Easter Vigil discourages some from attending. One may still benefit from reading the scriptures assigned for the service, especially the passages from Genesis and Exodus, along with St. Paul's words and the Gospel. One may sit quietly with a candle lit in darkness. The Word of God and the light of Christ and the waters of Baptism call to us to proclaim: Christ is risen, Alleluia! AMEN