May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
The Easter Vigil is a liturgy of great anticipation. Begun in darkness, and then only lit by the
divided flame of the paschal candle, the Church keeps solemn vigil in
anticipation of the glory to be revealed.
Just as during the season of Lent, we have made the journey with the
Lord Jesus to Jerusalem, so on this most holy night, we make the journey of the
people of God from the dawn of creation to the Exodus, to the law and the
prophets, and finally to the empty tomb.
We have kept watch and we have listened with anticipation.
And yet, on this night, we do not encounter the Risen Lord in
the Gospel. We do not hear the words of
the Risen Lord Jesus announced in the Gospel.
We do not see him appearing to his disciples. We hear the announcement of the empty
tomb. We do not, this evening,
experience a personal encounter with the Risen Lord in the Scriptures, because
on this most holy night, in particular, we will encounter him in the
Sacraments.
Every sacrament is a personal encounter with the Risen
Lord. From the earliest days of the
Church, on this night the Sacrament of Baptism has been celebrated. In the Sacrament of Divine Adoption, with the
washing of water and the proclamation of the Word, the life of the Most High
God, takes up his place of dwelling in the souls of the baptized. Through the anointing with Sacred Chrism, the
grace of baptism is sealed and strengthened in the Sacrament of Confirmation. These two sacraments are truly conferred only
once in this life, yet we are daily offered this personal encounter with the
Risen Lord in Holy Communion. We meet
him, face to face, and person to person, in water, in sacred oil, and the
breaking of the bread.
Let us joyfully and faithfully receive him, as he comes to
meet us. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
