Triduum Easter Vigil 2025

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on Salvation History with texts from the Hebrew and Christian Testaments as we make some time today to sit with all of the paradoxes of life.

Patient Pondering Paradox

The texts proclaimed at Easter Vigil 2025 are listed in Table 1.

Genesis 1:1-2:2	Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath
Genesis 22:1-18	The Command to Sacrifice Isaac
Exodus 14:15-15:1	The Pursuers Drowned The Song of Moses
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
Ezekiel 36:16-28	The Renewal of Israel
Romans 6:3-11	Dying and Rising with Christ
Luke 24:1-12	The Resurrection of Jesus

Table 1. Easter Vigil 2024 Readings, for Year C

* [24:1–53] The resurrection narrative in Luke consists of five sections: (1) the women at the empty tomb (Lk 23:56b–24:12); (2) the appearance to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Lk 24:13–35); (3) the appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem (Lk 24:36–43); (4) Jesus’ final instructions (Lk 24:44–49); (5) the ascension (Lk 24:50–53). In Luke, all the resurrection appearances take place in and around Jerusalem; moreover, they are all recounted as having taken place on Easter Sunday. A consistent theme throughout the narrative is that the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus were accomplished in fulfillment of Old Testament promises and of Jewish hopes (Lk 24:19a, 21, 26–27, 44, 46). In his second volume, Acts, Luke will argue that Christianity is the fulfillment of the hopes of Pharisaic Judaism and its logical development (see Acts 24:10–21). 

* [24:6] He is not here, but he has been raised: this part of the verse is omitted in important representatives of the Western text tradition, but its presence in other text types and the slight difference in wording from Mt 28:6 and Mk 16:6 argue for its retention.

* [24:9] The women in this gospel do not flee from the tomb and tell no one, as in Mk 16:8 but return and tell the disciples about their experience. The initial reaction to the testimony of the women is disbelief (Lk 24:11).

* [24:12] This verse is missing from the Western textual tradition but is found in the best and oldest manuscripts of other text types. (Luke, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB, n.d.)

Cindy Costanzo comments that Holy Saturday is a day for quiet reflective time.

Today’s Holy Saturday experience brings me back to my walk during my retreat as well as a recent walk during Lent. The walk allows you to enter this time with some sense of the time, the setting, the cruelty of mankind, and the immense gratitude for how Jesus suffered for us, so we could have our sins forgiven, and the enormous gift received from our God for eternal life. 

I pray this Holy Saturday to receive the gift gratefully. To continue to follow Jesus’s ways, to remain humble, repent, and follow the commandments although imperfectly. I celebrate these gifts and hope in return to be transformative to others in offering my love. (Costanzo, 2025)

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." (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 6:3-11 comments that the death and resurrection of Christ is not something we just read about or reflect on. We are not just spectators; we are participants in this great cosmic drama. Through the power of the cross, Jesus has put our sins to death. Through the power of his resurrection, he has made us new creations, capable of living a life pleasing to his Father. In and through Christ, we, too, have experienced a resurrection that began at our Baptism and will be fully realized when Christ comes again.

This cycle of our dying and rising with Christ doesn’t begin and end with Lent and Easter. It characterizes our whole life on earth. As long as we live, we will have to die to sin. But we live in Christ! His light casts out the darkness and infuses us with grace and mercy so we also can rise with him. Hallelujah!

“Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for dying and rising for me! Help me to live the new life you have won for me, at Easter and always.” (Meditation on Romans 6:3-11, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler shares comments on the texts proclaimed at the Easter Vigil

Genesis 1:1-2:2	Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath	Priestly Account of Creation Everything created is GOOD.Babylonian ideas of separation. Humans superlative created. (3 mentions in Hebrew)
Genesis 22:1-18	The Command to Sacrifice Isaac	Binding of Isaac. Abraham shows great faith and love of son. Promises many descendants.
Exodus 14:15-15:1	The Pursuers Drowned The Song of Moses	The Exodus from Egypt at the Red Sea followed by Canticle from about 1300 BCE.
Isaiah 54:5-14	The Eternal Covenant of Peace	God has taken back His Punishment. Like in Noah
Isaiah 55:1-11	An Invitation to Abundant Life	God is going to make a Covenant
Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4	In Praise of Wisdom	Author: Fear of God: Wisdom by following the Law
Ezekiel 36:16-28	The Renewal of Israel	All the people brought to Israel a Covenant written on their hearts. A Spiritual blessing of Laws
Romans 6:3-11	Dying and Rising with Christ	Die with Christ at Baptism and dying to sin we have to live as if we have already risen
Luke 24:1-12	The Resurrection of Jesus	One of three accounts of the Resurrection in Luke. A number of women, three named. Stone moved and two men in white, the power of the Resurrection, Run to tell Peter.

Easter Vigil 2024 Readings, for Year C Comments

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Spiritual teacher Christine Valters Paintner who invites us to the patience necessary to receive the wisdom of Holy Saturday. The Triduum, those three sacred days of unfolding liturgy, calls us to experience communion, loss, and the border spaces of unknowing. Holy Saturday is an invitation to make a conscious passage through the liminal realm of in-between.

The wisdom of the Triduum is that we must be fully present to both the starkness of Friday and the Saturday space between before we can really experience the Resurrection. We must know the terrible experience of loss wrought in our world. This pain can teach us more when the promise of new life dawns, and we will appreciate its light because we know the darkness….  

Much of our lives are spent in Holy Saturday places but we spend so much energy resisting, longing for resolution and closure. Our practice this day is to really enter into the liminal zone, to be present to it with every cell of our being. 

Make some time today to sit with all of the paradoxes of life. Bring yourself fully present so you can live in the discomfort of the experience. Rest in the space of waiting, and resist trying to come up with neat answers or resolutions. Imagine yourself on a wild border or standing on a threshold. See yourself knowing that you cannot fully embrace what is on the other side until you have let this place form in your heart. When you notice your attention drifting or your mind starting to analyze, return to the present moment. Allow yourself to feel whatever arises in this space. Honor the mystery. (Rohr, n.d.)

We keep vigil and seek the Wisdom and Perseverance of the Spirit to live as people of the Resurrection.

References

Costanzo, C. (2025, April 19). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 19, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/041925.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 19, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/24?1 

Meditation on Romans 6:3-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 19, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/04/19/1250959/ 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Loving Surrender: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 19, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/loving-surrender-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 19, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=apr19a 

 

Life and Death Paradox

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, chosen by the CCCB on the Feast for Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf, and Companions celebrated today in Canada, challenge us to explore the Life and Death Conflict that resulted in the martyrdom of these missionaries in 17th Century North America.

Yesterday and Today

The reading from the Book of Revelation declares the Triumph of the Elect.

* [7:1–17] An interlude of two visions precedes the breaking of the seventh seal, just as two more will separate the sixth and seventh trumpets (Rev 10). In the first vision (Rev 7:1–8), the elect receive the seal of the living God as protection against the coming cataclysm; cf. Rev 14:1; Ez 9:4–6; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30. The second vision (Rev 7:9–17) portrays the faithful Christians before God’s throne to encourage those on earth to persevere to the end, even to death. (Revelation, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 124 is a Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance

* [Psalm 124] A thanksgiving which teaches that Israel’s very existence is owed to God who rescues them. In the first part Israel’s enemies are compared to the mythic sea dragon (Ps 124:2b–3a; cf. Jer 51:34) and Flood (Ps 124:3b–5; cf. Is 51:9–10). The Psalm heightens the malice of human enemies by linking them to the primordial enemies of God’s creation. Israel is a bird freed from the trapper’s snare (Ps 124:6–8)—freed originally from Pharaoh and now from the current danger. (Psalms, PSALM 124 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians shares the Paradox of the Ministry.

* [4:8–9] A catalogue of his apostolic trials and afflictions. Yet in these the negative never completely prevails; there is always some experience of rescue, of salvation.

* [4:10–11] Both the negative and the positive sides of the experience are grounded christologically. The logic is similar to that of 2 Cor 1:3–11. His sufferings are connected with Christ’s, and his deliverance is a sign that he is to share in Jesus’ resurrection.

* [4:12–15] His experience does not terminate in himself, but in others (12, 15; cf. 2 Cor 1:4–5). Ultimately, everything is ordered even beyond the community, toward God (2 Cor 4:15; cf. 2 Cor 1:11). (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches the Conditions of Discipleship.

* [9:23] Daily: this is a Lucan addition to a saying of Jesus, removing the saying from a context that envisioned the imminent suffering and death of the disciple of Jesus (as does the saying in Mk 8:34–35) to one that focuses on the demands of daily Christian existence. (Luke, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares the Coming of His Hour.

* [12:24] This verse implies that through his death Jesus will be accessible to all. It remains just a grain of wheat: this saying is found in the synoptic triple and double traditions (Mk 8:35; Mt 16:25; Lk 9:24; Mt 10:39; Lk 17:33). John adds the phrases (Jn 12:25) in this world and for eternal life.

* [12:25] His life: the Greek word psychē refers to a person’s natural life. It does not mean “soul,” for Hebrew anthropology did not postulate body/soul dualism in the way that is familiar to us. (John, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Franciscan Media comments on Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf, and Companions who are commemorated by the USCCB on October 19.

Faith and heroism planted belief in Christ’s cross deep in our land. The Church in North America sprang from the blood of martyrs, as has been true in so many places. The ministry and sacrifices of these saints challenges each of us, causing us to ask just how deep is our faith and how strong our desire to serve even in the face of death. (Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean De Brébeuf, and Companions, n.d.)

Cindy Murphy McMahon, as she reflects on the texts of the USCCB today, asks are there certain groups or types of people or individuals that she mentally excludes from the family of God, whether consciously or unconsciously?

Don Schwager offers a comment by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD) on the theme that those who listen and obey God's word become true children of God.

The Word Among Us shares a Meditation on the USCCB text from Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20.

Friar Jude Winkler’s reflection, for September 26, 2023, explores the USCCB texts.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that we have to allow ourselves to be drawn into sacred space, into liminality. All transformation takes place here. There alone is our old world left behind, though we’re not yet sure of the new existence. That’s a good space where genuine newness can begin. We must get there often and stay as long as we can by whatever means possible. It’s the realm where God can best get at us because our false certitudes are finally out of the way. This is the sacred space where the old world is able to fall apart, and a bigger world is revealed. If we don’t encounter liminal space in our lives, we start idealizing normalcy. The threshold is God’s waiting room. Here we are taught openness and patience as we come to expect an appointment with the Divine Doctor.

I believe that religion’s unique and necessary function is to lead us into liminal space. Instead, religion has largely become a confirmation of the status quo and business as usual. Religion should lead us into sacred space where deconstruction of the old “normal” can occur. Much of my criticism of religion comes about when I see it not only affirming the system of normalcy but teaching folks how to live there comfortably. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

We contemplate the conflict and struggles of the Jesuit Martyrs in their mission and seek the guidance of the Spirit to activate our zeal in a Way appropriate to our time and place.

References

John, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/12 

Luke, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9 

Psalms, PSALM 124 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/124 

Revelation, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/7 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Liminal Space. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/liminal-space/ 

Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf, and Companions. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-isaac-jogues-jean-de-brebeuf-and-companions/ 

2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/4