A Vigil of Faith and Hope

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are proclaimed at the Easter Vigil as we witness the presentation of the journey of our ancestors in the faith that leads to the fullness of life of the resurrection.

Light of Resurrection

Texts proclaimed on Holy Saturday At the Easter Vigil on the Holy Night of Easter!

Links to Texts	A Link to Friar Jude Commentary
Genesis 1:1-2:2	Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath “Creation three times”
Genesis 22:1-18	The Command to Sacrifice Isaac (binding of Isaac)
Exodus 14:15-15:1	The Pursuers Drowned The Song of Moses and Ancient Canticle
Isaiah 54:5-14	The Eternal Covenant of Peace
Isaiah 55:1-11	An Invitation to Abundant Life
Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4	In Praise of Wisdom restored in their hearts.
Ezekiel 36:16-28	The Renewal of Israel
Romans 6:3-11	Dying and Rising with Christ Die in Baptism and Rise with Him
Matthew 28:1-10	The Resurrection of Jesus Two “Mary’s” to the Tomb as Witness

Table 1. Easter Vigil 2026 Readings, for Year A

In Psalm 118, God’s rescue of His people is recounted.

* [Psalm 118] A thanksgiving liturgy accompanying a procession of the king and the people into the Temple precincts. After an invocation in the form of a litany (Ps 118:1–4), the psalmist (very likely speaking in the name of the community) describes how the people confidently implored God’s help (Ps 118:5–9) when hostile peoples threatened its life (Ps 118:10–14); vividly God’s rescue is recounted (Ps 118:15–18). Then follows a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist as the latter enters to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 118:19–25). Finally, the priests impart their blessing (Ps 118:26–27), and the psalmist sings in gratitude (Ps 118:28–29). (Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB, n.d.)

* [118:22] The stone the builders rejected: a proverb: what is insignificant to human beings has become great through divine election. The “stone” may originally have meant the foundation stone or capstone of the Temple. The New Testament interpreted the verse as referring to the death and resurrection of Christ (Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; cf. Is 28:16 and Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7) (Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB, n.d.) 

Rev. Kent Beausoleil, SJ, declares Alleluia! for the excited faces on children as they hunt for brilliantly dyed Easter eggs tomorrow, Easter Sunday here in the United States.   Personally, I never understood what ham, dyed eggs, chocolate, and a bunny rabbit has to do with this day, and so, brunch and family and friend celebrations aside, but ALLELUIA most importantly for what is the reason for these celebrations.

A big alleluia for this day, when we celebrate once again the greatest celebration we can ever celebrate, Jesus, the one who came to save us has indeed risen from the dead.  Alleluia then for our life and our world, that because of his resurrection, we and the world stand changed and changed for the good by a divine love that lives on forever.  Now new beginnings are fragile moments filled with hope-filled expectation.  Our alleluias are indeed real this weekend, yes, they are, but our readings and our gospel call for tempered enthusiasm. (Beausoleil, n.d.)

Don Schwager shares a commentary on the Resurrection.

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? (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us offers a Meditation on Matthew 28:1-10 that shares an excerpt from Pope Leo XIV’s catechesis on hope, in which he reflects on the silent vigil of Holy Saturday.

“In the tomb, Jesus, the living Word of the Father, is silent. But it is precisely in that silence that the new life begins to ferment. Like a seed in the ground, like the darkness before dawn. God is not afraid of the passing time because he is also the God of waiting. Thus, even our ‘useless’ time, that of pauses, emptiness, barren moments, can become the womb of resurrection. Every silence that is welcomed can be the premise of a new Word. Every suspended time can become a time of grace, if we offer it to God.

“Jesus, buried in the ground, . . . is the God who trusts, even when everything seems to be over. And we, on that suspended Sabbath, learn that we do not have to be in a hurry to rise again; first we must stay and welcome the silence, let ourselves be embraced by limitation. At times we seek quick answers, immediate solutions. But God works in depth, in the slow time of trust. The Sabbath of the burial thus becomes the womb from which the strength of an invincible light, that of Easter, can spring forth.

“Dear friends, Christian hope is not born in noise, but in the silence of an expectation filled with love. It is not the offspring of euphoria, but of trustful abandonment. . . . God loves to transfigure reality, making all things new with the fidelity of his love. True joy is born of indwelt expectation, of patient faith, of the hope that what has been lived in love will surely rise to eternal life.” (General Audience, September 17, 2025)

“Here I am, Lord, ready to rise with you.” (Meditation on Matthew 28:1-10, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler offers some comments summarized in Table 1 above.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author Stephanie Duncan Smith who finds consolation in Holy Saturday, which affirms that the time between loss and new life is holy.

 The Paschal story holds the death of Good Friday and the silence of Holy Saturday before it breaks into the resurrection joy of Easter Sunday. This is the pattern into which we have been baptized, and there is no telling of the liturgical story that does not include this day of the brutal-in-between….

The human heart knows Holy Saturday, because the human heart knows vigilance—the keeping watch that happens when the body cannot choose between hope and fear. We know what it is to wait on edge for the relationship to repair, the addition to break, the body to heal, the clarity to come, the kids to get home safe. We know what it is to want in our waiting, and like the disciples, we wonder where God has gone.

Vigilance is holding in tension two dramatically different outcomes—one of life and one of death—knowing there is nothing you can do to control which way the story tilts…. (Rohr, n.d.)

We are present in this sacred liturgy with the people in our tradition who lived in relationship with God and who found the New Life offered by Christ as we proclaim “He is Risen”

References

Beausoleil, K. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved April 4, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-april-4-2026 

Meditation on Matthew 28:1-10. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved April 4, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/04/03/1531545/ 

Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 4, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Jesus and the End of Scapegoating: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 4, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/jesus-and-the-end-of-scapegoating-weekly-summary/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Why Do You Seek the Living among the Dead? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 4, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Truth and Denial

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with both our joy and hesitancy in our proclamation of the Easter truth that “He is Risen”.

Present the Truth

In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter addresses the Crowd.

* [2:1–41] Luke’s pentecostal narrative consists of an introduction (Acts 2:1–13), a speech ascribed to Peter declaring the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic significance (Acts 2:14–36), and a favorable response from the audience (Acts 2:37–41). It is likely that the narrative telescopes events that took place over a period of time and on a less dramatic scale. The Twelve were not originally in a position to proclaim publicly the messianic office of Jesus without incurring immediate reprisal from those religious authorities in Jerusalem who had brought about Jesus’ death precisely to stem the rising tide in his favor. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 16 is a song of Trust and Security in God

* [Psalm 16] In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Ps 16:2–5), preferring Israel’s God (Ps 16:1), the giver of the land (Ps 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Ps 16:7–11). (Psalms, PSALM 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, is the Report of the Guard concerning Jesus Resurrection.

* [28:8] Contrast Mk 16:8 where the women in their fear “said nothing to anyone.”

* [28:9–10] Although these verses are peculiar to Matthew, there are similarities between them and John’s account of the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:17). In both there is a touching of Jesus’ body, and a command of Jesus to bear a message to his disciples, designated as his brothers. Matthew may have drawn upon a tradition that appears in a different form in John. Jesus’ words to the women are mainly a repetition of those of the angel (Mt 28:5a, 7b).

* [28:11–15] This account indicates that the dispute between Christians and Jews about the empty tomb was not whether the tomb was empty but why. (Matthew, CHAPTER 28 | USCCB, n.d.)

Ann Mausbach proposes a new word: Frope - feeling equal measure of fear and hope.

In today’s Gospel the realization of what Jesus has done for us is just now sinking in to Mary Magdalene, Mary and his other disciples. The women leave his tomb “fearful yet overjoyed.” These people watched Jesus on his long journey toward the cross and witnessed the difficulties of his path. The day after his death the enormity of his sacrifice is becoming clear to them. They are fearful for what lies ahead, but hopeful because he has risen.

Even though hope and fear may be in our hearts, I think today’s readings are asking us to focus on the hope of the Resurrection. In the first reading we are reminded that God’s love and the Holy Spirit’s promise are stronger than the throes of death. The responsorial psalm asks us to keep our hope in God for he does not abandon us and will keep us safe.  Today, the day after Easter, we are being called to see God in the world. (Mausbach, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “The Easter Alleluia,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain." (excerpt from commentary on Psalm 148, 1-2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 28:8-15 comments on Mercy. Revelation. Love. These stories of encounter with the Lord always win out because they’re true! They win out because the same encounters are available to each and every person!

Christ is risen. This is the true and life-changing story you have been baptized into. This is your spiritual inheritance. So why not devote this Easter Season to seeking out the risen Lord? Tell Jesus you want to encounter him more deeply in the coming weeks.

Jesus really is risen. And he wants to reveal himself to you.

“Lord Jesus, open my heart so that I can encounter you today!” (Meditation on Matthew 28:8-15, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the first teaching, or kerygma, of Peter speaking on Pentecost about Jesus' resurrection fulfilling the promises to David. The encounter of Jesus with two women as witnesses to His Resurrection is unexpected in the very Jewish Gospel of Matthew. Friar Jude reminds us in the light of the apologia of Matthew, that we focus on apologia as witness and not a weapon.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, identifies death and resurrection as the universal pattern of Reality.

Death and life are two sides of the same coin; we cannot have one without the other. Each time we choose to surrender, each time we trust the dying, our faith is led to a deeper level, and we discover a Larger Self underneath. We decide not to push to the front of the line, and something much better happens in the back of the line. We let go of narcissistic anger, and we find that we start feeling much happier. We surrender our need to control our partner, and finally the relationship blossoms. Yet each time it is a choice—and each time it is a kind of dying. It seems we only know what life is when we know what death is. (Rohr, 2017)

We ponder the meaning of Jesus' Resurrection in our lives as we encounter both participation and disinterest in the implications of this Truth.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/2?14 

Matthew, CHAPTER 28 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/28? 

Mausbach, A. (2024, April 1). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040124.html 

Meditation on Matthew 28:8-15. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/04/01/928141/ 

Psalms, PSALM 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/16?1 

Rohr, R. (2017, November 9). A Universal Pattern. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-universal-pattern-2024/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). News of the Resurrection. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=apr1