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/ 

Communion of Saints and Sinners

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to recognize that our human community, consisting of both law abiding and needy, are beloved children of God. 

Community of God's People

The Reading from the Book of Sirach defines sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to God.

* [35:1–26] Keeping the commandments of the law and avoiding injustice constitute sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to God (vv. 1–5). Offerings also should be made to him, cheerfully and generously; these he repays sevenfold (vv. 6–13). Extortion from widows and orphans is injustice, and God will hear their cries (vv. 14–22a). Punishing the proud and the merciless and coming to the aid of the distressed, he requites everyone according to their deeds (vv. 22b–26). (Sirach, CHAPTER 35 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 34 declares God will give them protection.

* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Second Letter to Timothy comments on the Reward for Fidelity

* [4:14–18] Alexander: an opponent of Paul’s preaching (2 Tm 4:14–15), perhaps the one who is mentioned in 1 Tm 1:20. Despite Paul’s abandonment by his friends in the province of Asia (cf. 2 Tm 1:15–16), the divine assistance brought this first trial to a successful issue, even to the point of making the gospel message known to those who participated in or witnessed the trial (2 Tm 4:16–17). (2 Timothy, CHAPTER 4|USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus presents the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

* [18:1–14] The particularly Lucan material in the travel narrative concludes with two parables on prayer. The first (Lk 18:1–8) teaches the disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall victims to apostasy (Lk 18:8). The second (Lk 18:9–14) condemns the self-righteous, critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the fundamental attitude of the Christian disciple must be the recognition of sinfulness and complete dependence on God’s graciousness. The second parable recalls the story of the pardoning of the sinful woman (Lk 7:36–50) where a similar contrast is presented between the critical attitude of the Pharisee Simon and the love shown by the pardoned sinner. (Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Larry Gillick, SJ, working with an “AI” theme, comments that Artificial Intimacy with God and with others begins with not really being present, being really there.

Actual Intimacy depends on firstly being intimate with ourselves. I ask myself sincere questions about how I am doing, feeling, and thinking. This is definitely not exalting myself, but waiting humbly for my true answers. Intimacy begins with self-honesty and acceptance, and that is not always “fun”. The first man in today’s parable was honest about his external, but not in touch with his internal. The sinner was quite honest about both his interior and how he had been living externally.

When starting my own morning-prayer time, I do ask myself if I am here yet. I have my mug of tea set, but often I am not set, not available for encountering myself, my truth, in the presence of the All-loving Infinite Love Who waits for me to catch up with my reality. God never waits; even my waking up to my truth is God’s Active Intensity. To be honest, sometimes I do not get there, not present, not really awake. God is Always Intimate and Actively involved. (Gillick, 2025)

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

"How useful and necessary a medicine is repentance! People who remember that they are only human will readily understand this. It is written, 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble' (1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6, Job 22:29, Proverbs 3:34). The Pharisee was not rejoicing so much in his own clean bill of health as in comparing it with the diseases of others. He came to the doctor. It would have been more worthwhile to inform him by confession of the things that were wrong with himself instead of keeping his wounds secret and having the nerve to crow over the scars of others. It is not surprising that the tax collector went away cured, since he had not been ashamed of showing where he felt pain." (excerpt from Sermon 351.1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 comments that when a Pharisee and a tax collector come to the Temple to pray, the Pharisee seems to think he can sway the Lord’s opinion of him with his long list of accomplishments. But it doesn’t work. Neither his status nor his résumé qualifies him for special favors. The one who “went home justified,” the one who received God’s grace, was the tax collector, who approached God with humility and lowliness (Luke 18:14). He knew that he couldn’t earn God’s approval, so he admitted his need and pleaded for mercy.

The Lord knows no favorites. That’s a truth that you can hold onto today. But you can also hold onto the truth that you are a beloved child of God. Your position before him is secure. There’s nothing you can do to make him love you more. There’s nothing you have done that will make him love you less. So just come to him, trusting in his mercy, and let him love you—completely—for who you are!

“Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me so fully and unreservedly!” (Meditation on Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Sirach reading was written only in Greek therefore it is not in the Jewish or Protestant Canon. God shows justice to everyone and reaches out to those who need Him. The Second Letter to Timothy, likely written in the name of Paul, compares the situation of Paul to a libation poured on ground as a sign of giving completely to God even as he was facing martyrdom and knowing it will serve the spreading of the Gospel. Luke presents the Parable of Pharisee and the Publican tax collector. The text contrasts the self praise of a truly good Pharisee and a  man admitting his brokenness. It is not true conversion to be superior to others. Luke reaches out to the anawim, those society puts down. Friar Jude notes they recognize their need for Jesus and turn to Him.

Fr. Mike Schmitz discusses the story of Jeremiah and the Ark of the Covenant, offering insight on where it was hidden and how that affected the people of God. He also looks ahead to the rest of 2 Maccabees and poses a question for all of us: What will the people who love us  remember about us? Today’s readings are 2 Maccabees 2, Sirach 42-44, and Proverbs 24:8-9.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on our universal participation in life and the connectedness to which Christ invites us. We are all partners with both the living and the dead, walking alongside countless ancestors and descendants who were wounded and longed for healing. This idea, “the communion of saints,” became the last phrase added to the Apostles’ Creed centuries later, almost as if it took us a while to recognize its importance. Someday, maybe we will have the courage to add “the communion of sinners,” too. The body of Christ is one great and shared sadness and one continuous joy, and we are saved just by remaining connected to it. 

Since the Enlightenment, however, we have been trained to believe that we each can “do it my way,” like Frank Sinatra’s song, instead of participating in everybody else’s great parade. As I often say, if we do not mythologize our pain, all we can do is pathologize it. We Westerners have lost the ability to frame the significance of our own little lives. I suspect that those who grew up with the richness of the myths and sacred stories of Ulysses and Athena or the Corn Mothers or Kali may have found meaning and consolation for their pain more readily than many of us do today. They knew they weren’t alone on the journey, while we no longer believe or live as if we are an inherent part of a much bigger story. We believe ourselves separate from the cosmic dance that created Greek comedy and tragedy and led the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest to dance and carve kachinas as a way of marking human events or emotions. Helping people see that they are cooperating members of a performance that is already showing—and will keep showing—is surely why so many of the religions of Indigenous people were, at their heart, ancestor worship.  

We are invited to realize I am not the first nor the last to feel this suffering. I can now choose to be a weak but willing member of the whole communion of saints! Surely such solidarity is our salvation, rather than private purity or personal wholeness. Paul called it living “en Cristo,” a phrase that he used multiple times to name the shape and coherence of our collective participation. (Rohr, n.d.)

We rely on inspiration of the Spirit to live out our Baptismal Anointing as priest, prophet and leader for all people in humble service to our universal need for God.

References

Gillick, L. (2025, October 26). Daily Reflection October 26, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-october-26-2025 

Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/18?9 

Meditation on Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/10/26/1414780/ 

Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC.org. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-continuous-body-of-christ/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner! Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Sirach, CHAPTER 35 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/35?12 

2 Timothy, CHAPTER 4|USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/4?6