The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are those for the Easter Vigil.
Reflection at the tomb
The account of the Resurrection of Jesus this year is from Mark 16.1-8.
There are nine readings and eight psalms or songs that have been prepared to help us with our night's vigil. Each reading is followed by an invitation to pray in silence, which is followed by a special prayer designed for that reading. (The help that comes with the liturgy says this: “The number of readings from the Old Testament may be reduced for pastoral reasons, but it must always be borne in mind that the reading of the word of God is the fundamental element of the Easter Vigil.”) If we have time on Saturday, a wonderful way to prepare for the Vigil would be to read the readings and psalms and then articulate prayer to the Lord, expressing gratitude to God for an extraordinary story of fidelity and love for us.1
The USCCB Web Page contains the readings for the Vigil, the Psalms, and the Psalm responses.
Mary Lee Brock comments that Holy Saturday offers us an opportunity for quiet, contemplative prayer. And while she anticipates the celebration of Easter, she invites herself to stay with the image of the tomb rather than the image of the risen Christ. The gift of Holy Saturday is the taking the time and space to pray with the mystery of the death of Jesus and the fears that come with facing the reality of our own death.
Facing death on this Holy Saturday is unique this year as death has been a central narrative of the global pandemic. Grieving those we have lost. Fearing our own mortality. Experiencing the death of ways of working, engaging in liturgy, serving others, connecting with family and community. These patterns are being rebuilt and some will be reestablished. One common experience of the changes brought by the pandemic is that the busyness in our lives in the “before times” often got in the way of time and space for reflection and prayer. Perhaps coming into the next couple of months the perspective we gained during the pandemic will help us remember to know that in Christ we have all we need and to be watchful of falling into patterns of busyness at all cost.2
Don Schwager quotes “Christ destroyed death to bring us life,” from a sermon by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.
"God's compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful, and, though the divine nature could not be touched by the sting of death, he took to himself, through his birth as one of us, something he could offer on our behalf. The power of his death once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea the prophet: Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up. By dying he submitted to the laws of the underworld; by rising again he destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As all die in Adam, so all will be brought to life in Christ."3
The Word Among Us Meditation reflects on Genesis 1:1–2:2.
“In the beginning,” God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). In this new order, heaven will come down to earth. In the beginning, God breathed life into a man (2:7). In this new order, he will breathe his Holy Spirit into all people (John 20:22). In the beginning, God warned man against eating from the wrong tree (Genesis 2:16-17). In this new order, he will feed everyone with his own Body and Blood (John 6:51, 53). But that’s for tomorrow. Today we look at the landscape of our own lives—lives wounded by sin but suffused with hope. As we keep vigil tonight, we will witness the new creation breaking forth. “Thank you, Jesus, for renewing all creation!”4
Friar Jude Winkler shares a reflection on the texts for the Easter Vigil.
Table of reflections.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Holy Saturday, the liminal time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is a day of waiting, of not knowing, of grieving all we have lost, all we have done, and all we have left undone. He offers the questions of Valarie Kaur, a Sikh activist and civil rights lawyer, to inspire our own as we wait in expectant hope for the new life to come.
What do they need? Listening to more stories, learning about a community’s history, or showing up to vigils or marches or memorials gives me information for how to fight for them. I seek out organizations that are already fighting for them and offer my voice or time or money or labor to assist them. When I worry that I’m not enough, I ask myself: What is my sword and shield? How will I fight? What will I risk? When I get overwhelmed, I ask: What is my role in this moment? I remember that I only have to shine my light in my corner of sky.5
Our salvation history is proclaimed at the Easter Vigil and we praise God as we accept His invitation to New Life.
References
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