We Remember! We Celebrate! We Believe!
April 15, 2006 Easter Vigil of the Lord’s Resurrection (B) - White
First Reading: Genesis 1:1 - 2:2
Responsorial Psalm I: Psalm 104 "Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth."
Second Reading: Genesis 22:1-18
Responsorial Psalm II: Psalm 16 "You are my inheritance, O Lord."
Third Reading: Exodus 14:15 - 15:1
Responsorial Psalm III: Exodus 15 "Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory."
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
Alleluia & Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118 "Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia."
Proclamation of the Resurrection: Mark 16:1-7
*Readings 4-7 may be read. If there will be any omittance of readings, the third reading must always be read.
"This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave." (Exsultet)
"Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Cor 15:20) - The Scriptures have been fulfilled this very night. The predictions and prophecies that the prophets prophesied in the Old Testament have found their fulfillment in the New Testament when Christ came into being. And now, the prophecies about the Messiah, that he must suffer, die and rise again in glory, have been fulfilled through the Resurrection of Christ. And it happened this very night. This is the night when good triumphs over evil. This is the night when heaven is wedded to earth. This is the night when humanity is reconciled to God. This is the night when Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphantly from the grave. This is the night of the Lord!
We Remember. "For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures" (1 Cor 15:3-4) - Let us go back to history and trace back the events that led to our Lord’s Resurrection. One fundamental aspect of the Lord’s Paschal Mystery is his Passion. Jesus encountered and made many enemies in his ministry. And these enemies led to the antagonism of the cross - the start of his passion. They led him to several trials before the High Priest Caiaphas, Herod and Pontius Pilate, who ordered for his crucifixion. They scourged him, crowned him with thorns, and mocked him as a false "king of the Jews." They led him out to Calvary, carrying a wood of the cross weighing about triple his very own weight. He fell down three times under the weight of the cross. By merely suffering alone, he lost his humanity - the dignity of his own person. Jesus is then crucified on the cross. He stayed there, carrying his own weight against the iron nails and the gravity that pulls him down, to the fullest, without any hesitation of going down nor without any regrets of him not accepting the Father’s will. We must understand that "Jesus’ violent death is not a result of chance in an unfortunate conincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God’s plan" (CCC 599). He died for our sins as a living mysery of our redemption. "For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our Eternal Father." (Exsultet) Upon his death, evil is conquered and in the same way, death is conquered by victory. "Where, O death, is your victory?" (1 Cor 15:54) Evil has lost in the struggle between good and bad. He was eventually buried, just as any human person who dies, in a tomb near his death place. And now, we come to share the vision of his resurrection, when after three days, an angel of the Lord announces, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!" (Luke 24:5-6). Christ is indeed risen!
We Celebrate. "Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church’s solemn offering." (Exsultet) - Tonight we come together to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection. We are indeed gifted with the color and uniqueness of this precious liturgy. The Service of the Light reminds us that the passage from death to life is dramatically signified by light piercing through the darkness of the night. The Easter Candle reminds us of Christ’s light shining through the darkness and that this pillar of light will not falter but will give us light eternal. The Liturgy of the Word accompanies us as we trace back the history of God’s loving plan of salvation. God gave us the world and created it for us and we should care for it. God also frees us from the bondage of sin and leads us to freedom. The highest part is the proclamation of Christ’s Resurrection, where we all together rejoice at the triumph of our Lord over sin and death. The Liturgy of Baptism celebrates our own initiation in the Church. It reminds us that we belong to a family - God’s very own. This beautiful liturgy calls to mind our own baptism and renews our sense of belongingness in this faith. The Liturgy of the Eucharis, the climax of our celebration, makes us unite in the table of the Lord to celebrate his resurrection from the dead. "Christ has become our paschal sacrifice; let us feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor 5:7-8). With the end of this mass, we end the liturgy we started on Holy Thursday evening. Hence, this whole liturgy is a celebration of our faith - a celebration unique to us Christians.
We Believe. "This is the night when Christians everywhere are restored to grace and grow together in holiness." (Exsultet) - Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our Christian faith. The very act of resurrecting from the dead is a definitive source of confirmation for all of his teachings and miracles - giving enough proof of his divinity in humanity. By his his resurrection, Christ opened for us the way to new life, "so that as Christ is raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4). And finally, Christ’s resurrection is the principle of our future resurrection in Him. As Christians, we have the calling to live a renewed life in his Spirit. Magbagong-buhay tayo! Yes, it is hard, but the simple giving of coins to street children, offering to the Pondo ng Pinoy, and the most simplest saying of "I love you" to loved ones, contemplate on the resurrection of Christ and our eventual new life. Christ invites us to live a new life in him freely, for he conquered sin and death in his resurrection.
Happy Easter to one and all!
