1 . See
what happens: One lady wrote in to a question
and answer forum. "Dear Sirs, Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just
swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you
think? Sincerely, Bewildered.
2 .
Rented for a week end: Joseph of Arimathea was
a very wealthy Pharisee, a member of the council, and a secret follower of
Jesus. It was Joseph who went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body after the
crucifixion. And it was Joseph who supplied the tomb for Jesus’ burial. I
wonder if someone pulled him aside and said, "Joseph that was such
beautiful, costly, hand-hewn tomb. Why on earth did you give it to someone to
be buried in?" "Why not?" Joseph might have answered. “He only
needed it for the weekend."
*************
From Creighton University Online Ministries:
Reflecting on the Celebration of the Easter Vigil
1.
Darkness.
The Easter Vigil begins with darkness. The darkness itself is the first movement of
the liturgy, so we begin our preparations with that darkness. It represents all darkness, and all the
meanings of darkness - devoid of light; evil thoughts, motivations, deeds; all
that is hidden and secret, deceitful and dishonest, divisive and abusive,
immoral and sinful. It's the darkness of
our world, and the darkness in my heart.
If I come to the vigil and restlessly and impatiently fidget in the dark
“until something happens,” I miss the power of what is about to happen. So, we prepare by readying ourselves to
experience the darkness. It is
distasteful and reprehensible, embarrassing and humbling, fearful and
despairing. Then a light is struck. It
breaks into the darkness. “O God, who through your son bestowed upon the
faithful the fire of your glory,
sanctify + this new fire, we pray, and grant
that,
by
these Paschal celebrations, we may be so inflamed with heavenly desires
that with minds made pure,
we may attain festivities of unending spendor.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, now that we
have begun our solemn Vigil, let us listen with quiet hearts to the Word of
God.
Let
us meditate on how God in times past saved his people and in these, the last
days, has sent us his son as our Redeemer.
Let
us pray that our God may complete this Paschal work of salvation by the
fullness of redemption.”
3.
The Word of Our Salvation History.
After the last reading from the Old Testament,
the candles are lit and the bells ring as we sing our Glory to God. Now we are ready to hear the New Testament
word in the light of Christ, and the good news, “He has been raised!” Powerful religious experience is prepared
for. At this point in the liturgy, we
want to be prepared to be exultant with joy at the resurrection of Jesus - the
victory of our God over sin and death - for us.
4.
The Liturgy of Baptism.
5.
The Litany
We turn to the community of saints in glory
to ask for their help. We remember that
we do this same litany before the ordination of priests. As we turn to each of these saints we recall
how these very special women and men journeyed in situations very much like
ours and let God transform their lives, and that they are now in glory
interceding for us. In our hearts we
might also turn to the saints we have known, who are not part of this list,
whose love we have known and to whom we can turn tonight to intercede for these
candidates for baptism and for our whole community.
“Give new life to these chosen ones by the
grace of baptism.”
6.
The Blessing of the Water
The Presider now blesses the water. These wonderful prayers are like a mini
lesson, both for those about to be baptized, and for us. We can prepare by praying this prayer before
the Vigil, at the link to the right.
When the priest inserts the candle in the water and pull it out and
lifts it up, we experience the ritual that announces the meaning of our baptism
into these waters - one with him in dying that we might be one with him in
rising.
7.
The
Profession of Faith and Renunciation of Evil
We have renewed our baptismal promises many
times. We can prepare to make the Easter
Vigil a powerful experience of grace if we make each of the renunciations and
professions with a meaning that is personal to us.
“Do you reject sin, so as to live in the
freedom of God's children?”
That question begs me to spontaneously say,
“YES! Of course!” But, reflection tells
me that I long to be free at the same time that I cling to some of my
unfreedoms. So the next question takes
me deeper.
“Do you reject the glamor of evil, and
refuse to be mastered by sin?”
There really is a glamor to evil and it
does claim a mastery over me. The
renunciation that is asked of me is about freedom, so I am asked if I will
personally choose to be free and reject the rules the sin and darkness.
“Do you reject Satan, father of sin and
prince of darkness?”
Now I am ready to profess the faith of the
Church, choosing to believe in the One who gives me life.
8.
Baptism and the Rites Explaining Baptism.
The candidates are baptized. Even if our church isn't able to immerse the
baptized into the water, the ritual of pouring water over their heads is meant
to be a sign of their entry into the waters of baptism. We should feel the power of this moment and
open our hearts to its joy, for them and for ourselves.
The
newly baptized are anointed, with the same oil used to anoint priests.
“He now anoints you with the chrism of
salvation, so that, united with his people, you may remain forever a member of
Christ who is Priest, Prophet, and King.”
9.
They are then clothed in a
white garment.
“You have become a new creation and have
clothed yourselves in Christ. Receive this baptismal garment and bring it
unstained to the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you may have
everlasting life.”
Finally, they receive a candle lit from the
Easter fire.
“You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk
always as children of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your
hearts. When the Lord comes, may you go
out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.”
10.
The Celebration of
Confirmation
The
newly baptized and those who are about to be received into full communion are
ready to “share in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” We all pray in silence, and feel the power of
God's Spirit among us. And in silence,
the Presider lays hands on each person, the same sign used in ordination to the
priesthood. As they are anointed, we can
imagine the gifts of the Spirit that we have received and can let ourselves
feel the grace offered us to be strong witnesses to the union with Jesus in
mission that we are offered. The newly
confirmed take their places in the assembly of the faithful, ready to join us
for the first time at the table of the Lord.
11.
The Eucharist.
All our preparations, all the power of this
night's rituals and sacraments, lead us to celebrate the Eucharist, to “give
God thanks and praise.” As the newly
confirmed receive the final Sacrament of Initiation, the Body and Blood of
Jesus, we are ready to celebrate Easter.
The tomb is empty. There is Light in the midst of our
darkness. We've been fed by the Word and
given new life in the waters of baptism.
Now we eat his Body and drink his Blood and receive the life in him that
he promises.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
******************
A Love That Cannot Wait: An Easter Reflection
The celebration of Easter is for all
Christians the highpoint of our year of faith. At Easter we celebrate the fact
that Christ has risen from the dead and
destroyed death for all who place their hope in Him. Easter means that, because
of Christ’s resurrection, we shall not die but rather we are all invited to
spend eternity with our loving God in heaven. At Easter we think of our loved
ones who have died and we rejoice that they have been spared death because of
Christ’s resurrection and are with Him in heaven for all eternity. Ultimately,
at Easter we celebrate that God loves us so much that He destroyed death so
that He might spend eternity with each of us. Easter is the greatest
celebration of God’s unconditional and undying love for each of us; a love so
strong that death cannot destroy it.
The Good News about Christ’s resurrection
and His destruction of death is so overwhelmingly joyful that it can sometimes
overshadow another aspect of Christ’s victory. Christ’s resurrection from the
dead is so powerful that not only does it destroy death, it also destroys all
other barriers which stand in the way of our encountering Him—even the barriers
of time and space. Christ’s resurrection does not just announce God’s desire to be with us in
heaven; it also proclaims His passion to love and live with us today. God the
Father raised Jesus from the dead not so that He could live with His disciples
and apostles once they got to heaven. The Father rose Jesus up in order that
all people of all times and places could live in communion with Himself and the
other persons of the Holy Trinity at every moment in time and history. Easter
celebrates the fact that God will not let anything stand in the way of His love
for us. At Easter we celebrate that God’s love is so strong for us that He
cannot wait to be with us in heaven. God loves us so much that He desires to be
with us “today.” All that is required for this to happen is that we open our
hearts to His presence.
The Easter Vigil is the most powerful
celebration of God’s love for us that the Church knows. In this beautiful
annual celebration, the Church celebrates Christ’s victory over death and
recounts all that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have done to share their love
with each of us today. The Easter Vigil proclaims that our God loves each of us
so much that He cannot wait to be with us. He does not want to wait until we
are in heaven with Him. The resurrection of Christ was intended to break down
the barriers which stand in the way of us living in communion with Christ
today. Understanding how this is celebrated at the Easter Vigil can help all of
us to understand how Christ wishes to encounter us every day of our lives. The
Easter Vigil is made up of four essential parts: 1) the Liturgy of Light; 2)
the Liturgy of the Word; 3) the Liturgy of Baptism; and 4) the Liturgy of the
Eucharist. It is worth spending a little time looking at each of these in order
to appreciate how much God desires to relate to each us today. His is a love
that cannot wait to be in communion with each of us.
1.
The Liturgy of Light:
The Easter Vigil begins with the blessing
of the Easter Fire and the Paschal Candle and the singing of the Exultet, the
great hymn of our Easter victory. As the Easter Candle is lit, we celebrate
that Christ has destroyed the darkness of sin and death and become the light of
the world. By sending the Holy Spirit on the Church as tongues of fire, God the
Father illumines the hearts of all the Baptized. We enter the Church following
the Paschal Candle, which represents Christ, just as God once led His people
through the desert out of slavery in Egypt with a pillar of fire. The candles
that are held by the Baptized testify to the gift of the Holy Spirit that we
all received in Baptism and to the fact that God wishes to dwell within us
today and lead each of us by His Holy Spirit. The individual candles that we
hold also proclaim the responsibility that belongs to each Christian to be
Christ’s witness in the world. The Liturgy of the Light is a testimony of God’s
love by which we are to be guided today by the grace of God’s Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit reveals Christ as the light by which we are to guide our pilgrim
journeys to heaven, testifying to our brothers and sisters and illuminating the
world today by our Christian witness. The light proclaims a God who is with us
and active in the world today. The Paschal Candle used at the Easter Vigil is
also used at our Baptismal and Funeral liturgies to proclaim the love of our
God who wishes to be with us always.
2.
The Liturgy of the Word:
The Liturgy of the Word at the Easter Vigil
recalls the history of salvation. It proclaims God’s tireless efforts to love
and live in communion with His people. While this part of the Vigil may be
shortened, when the seven Old Testament readings are proclaimed, an account is
given of the extent to which God will go to love and relate to all of us. Since
the human person first sinned and turned away from God, He has not given up on
us. Everything God has done to reveal Himself in the Old Testament has been a
preparation for that final victory over all that divides us, which we celebrate
at the Easter Vigil. The emphasis that is placed on God’s Word reminds us how
important it is that we pray and study the Scriptures in order to know God and
understand how to relate to Him today. Discerning God’s presence in our lives
today requires that we all study and pray the Scriptures regularly. Attending
Mass every Sunday also helps us to know God’s Word as it exposes us regularly
to different aspects of God’s revelation and weekly guides us and draws us
closer to God. As at the Easter Vigil, no Mass is ever celebrated without God’s
Word being proclaimed from the Lectionary which contains the Scriptures
readings that are used at Mass. The Word is proclaimed at the Vigil and at each
Mass because Jesus does not want to wait to speak to us only when we get to
Heaven. He loves each of us so much that He does not want to wait that long. He
desires to speak to us today in His Word and invites us to come to Mass every
Sunday to hear it proclaimed in His community, which is the Church.
3.
The Liturgy of Baptism:
At the Easter Vigil, the Church welcomes
those adults who are to be baptized. As they are baptized they experience
concretely that Jesus does not want to wait to share His life with us. All who
are baptized share in the death and resurrection of Christ; they are freed from
original sin; and receive the grace of the Holy Spirit so that they may live in
communion with God now and for all eternity. Those who are baptized by
submersion experience how close God wishes to come to them as they are
surrounded by the saving water of the Baptismal Font. Those who are baptized
also remind those of us who are already baptized that we have already received
the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and are already called to be living our lives
each and every day in communion with Him.
The renewal of our baptismal promises at
the Easter Vigil and all of the other Easter Masses is a powerful reminder to
all of us that, as we celebrate Easter, we are already living in relationship
with the God who cannot wait to love us. While this is one of the more
significant times that we renew our baptismal promises in the course of the
year, it can help us to realize that we should and actually do remind ourselves
of our baptisms quite frequently. Every time that we cross ourselves “In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” we recall the
words with which we were baptized and established in a relationship of grace
with the Blessed Trinity. The Holy Water at the entrance to every church helps
us to recall how it is that by Baptism we were brought into the Church and
called into relationship with our God who desires to be in relationship with us
today. It is through our Baptism that the Holy Trinity wishes to share eternity
with us today.
4.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist:
The importance of the Eucharist at the
Easter Vigil as the highlight of the celebration points to the importance of
the Eucharist at each and every Mass. Nothing speaks more powerfully of God’s
desire to begin to spend eternity with us today than the gift which Christ
gives us at every Mass of His Body and Blood. We can sometimes lose sight of
the fact that every Sunday is a celebration of the day of Christ’s
resurrection. Every Sunday, Christ invites us to celebrate His resurrection and
to receive His Body and Blood so that He might share His life with us today.
Christians in our society are losing sight of the importance of
Sunday and what it is that we celebrate on this day. For so many people there
is a mistaken notion that to be a Christian means only to be a “nice” person.
Thankfully, the word “nice” is not used once in the Easter Vigil. To be a
Christian is to recognize that God has loved us so much that He has sent His
only Son into the world to save us by raising Him up after He died to forgive
our sins. The Christian professes his or her faith in Christ’s resurrection by
attending Mass on Sunday, the day on which He rose from the dead. Every Sunday
is intended to be a little weekly celebration of Easter. By receiving Christ’s
Body and Blood on Sunday, the Christian does what Christ has asked us to do “in
memory of me.” The Eucharist at the Easter Vigil emphasizes beautifully what we
celebrate at every Sunday Eucharist and shows us how we are to live our faith
today in communion with the same Jesus who gave us the Eucharist because He
loves us so much that He desires to be with us today. God does not wish to wait
until we get to heaven to share His life with us. He wishes to do so every
Sunday at the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist in our parish. Easter puts
before us the question of how we are going to respond to His invitation.
He loves us now and will always love us. He
invites us to be in relationship with Him now, to give Him a place in our lives
now and to open our hearts to the transforming power of His grace now. As we
celebrate this Easter that God loves each of us so much that He cannot wait to
be in relationship with us, let us also pray for the grace to respond to His
invitation today.
Because God desires to be in relationship
with us today, He also asks us to respond to Him today. Because He does not
wait to share His love, we are invited to accept His invitation to be with Him
for all eternity, not when we get to heaven, but now. Easter is a celebration
of God’s offer of salvation and an invitation to respond to this offer. We are
not to renew our baptismal promises only in word. We are called to give God a
place in our lives today. We do this as the Vigil shows us by: 1) allowing His
Holy Spirit to be the light by which we are guided on our pilgrim journeys to
heaven; 2) listening to His Word and being guided by the Scriptures; 3) living
our baptismal faith in relation to God and our brothers and sisters in Christ;
and 4) opening our hearts to Christ’s presence in our lives today by
remembering Him every Sunday at the Eucharist where He gives us His Body and
Blood so that we may love others as He has loved us.
May God bless all of us this Easter with an
awareness of His love today so that we might spend all eternity with Him,
starting right now.
Happy
Easter!
****************
Engaging Faith |
By John Bucki, S.J.
Source: Center of Concern
Quotes
“Let us ask the Father of mercies to enable
us to live fully the faith graciously bestowed upon us on the day of our
Baptism and to bear witness to it freely, joyfully and courageously. This will
be the best service we can offer to the cause of Christian unity, a service of
hope for a world still torn by divisions, conflicts and rivalries.”
- Pope Francis, March 20, 2013
“Christ is looking for men and women who
will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of
justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love.”
- Pope Benedict XVI, “Urbi et Orbi
Message,” Easter 2009
“It would be a contradiction to settle for
a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity.
To ask catechumens: ‘Do you wish to receive Baptism?’ means at the same time to
ask them: ‘Do you wish to become holy?’ It means to set before them the radical
nature of the Sermon on the Mount.”
- Pope John Paul II, “Novo Millennio
Inuente”
“Rising from the waters of the Baptismal
font, every Christian hears again the voice that was once heard on the banks of
the Jordan River: ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”
- Pope John Paul II, “Christi fideles
Laici” (Apostolic Exhortation on the Vocation of the Laity)
“To experience Holy Week is to enter more
and more into God’s logic of love and self-giving.”
-
Pope Francis, March 27, 2013
“Jesus no longer belongs to the past, but
lives in the present and is projected towards the future; Jesus is the
everlasting ‘today’ of God. This is how the newness of God appears to the
women, the disciples and all of us: as victory over sin, evil and death, over
everything that crushes life and makes it seem less human.”
- Pope Francis, homily at Easter Vigil,
March 30, 2013
Thoughts
for your consideration
Easter Resurrection is about power,
liberation and freedom, but not the power of dominating control or of
manipulating others. It is not about the power of a large corporation or bank.
It is not control by military force or the use of torture or the manipulation
of the mass media or the triumph of money. It is not the power of the media or
political insiders. Rather it is the power of non-violent, active, generous
love and solidarity. It is the power that comes from a faith rooted in the
great story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The readings at the
Easter vigil highlight the great story of God working in our world over a long
period of time for our liberation and life. This great story of liberation
continues today even in the midst of our human frailties.
In the baptismal promises, the catechumens
(and the entire community in their renewal of baptism promises) renounce sin
and all those ideologies and ways of thinking that are contrary to the way of
Jesus. They (we) renounce values that are taken for granted by or imbedded in
parts of our culture – racism, materialism, consumerism, sexism, militarism,
wealth, political power, etc. This renunciation is a source of freedom and new
life for all of us and for the whole world. From the death and resurrection of
Jesus flows a challenging vision that changes and challenges the social fabric
of the whole world.
As we leave our liturgical celebration of
the Resurrection of Jesus, we hope to be living in a new way. We hope to be
alive in the spirit of Christ, the Christ who shared our life, spoke up for the
oppressed, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and even risked death. It is this
spirit that we hope to share with our world.
“Let us ask the Father of mercies to enable
us to live fully the faith graciously bestowed upon us on the day of our
Baptism and to bear witness to it freely, joyfully and courageously. This will
be the best service we can offer to the cause of Christian unity, a service of
hope for a world still torn by divisions, conflicts and rivalries.”
- Pope Francis, March 20, 2013
Stories
If Easter is about freedom, these humorous
stories might be interesting starting point for our reflections:
A man escaped jail by digging a hole from
his jail cell to the outside world. When finally his work was done, he emerged
in the middle of a preschool playground.
"I'm free, I'm free!" he shouted.
"So what," said a little girl.
"I'm four."
See also the story of the Old Prisoner from
the Hunchback of Notre Dame. http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Old_Prisoner_%28The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame%29
What are some of the ways of thinking and
acting in our current culture that are contrary to the values and spirit of
Jesus? When you renounce sin, what are you renouncing?
+++++
Can you name a person in your experience
who seems to embody the experience of Resurrection? Tell us about this
person.
Actions – Links
April 22 is Earth Day. USCCB's
Environmental Justice Program calls Catholics to a deeper respect for God’s
creation and engages parishes in activities that deal with environmental
problems, particularly as they affect the poor.
Also check out http://catholicclimatecovenant.org
USCCB’S Justice for Immigrants campaign is
designed to unite and mobilize a growing network of Catholic institutions,
individuals, and other persons of good faith in support of a broad legalization
program and comprehensive immigration reform.
http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org
Send an electronic postcard to your
congressional representatives at their online action center.
USCCB and Catholic Relief Services are
trying to address issues of global poverty. Get involved at their web site: http://www.confrontglobalpoverty.org/
Speak up about human trafficking and
other issues.
“In This Together” is a project of Faith in
Public Life and supported by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the
Franciscan Action Network, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Columban
Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Conference for Mercy Higher Education,
Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social
Justice Lobby, and many others. Check out their site at http://www.inthistogether.org/
“Crazy
Facts”
A recent poll found that 89 percent of fast
food workers say their bosses are stealing from them by not paying them for all
of the work that they do. Learn more at http://lowpayisnotok.org/
Prayers
of Intercession
Response: Risen Jesus, bless us with newness
of life.
For an end to the violence, terrorism, and
war that divide and pain our world, we pray…
For an end to all the racism and
discrimination that oppresses people in our world, we pray…
For an end to the materialism and
consumerism that distorts our values and harms our environment, we pray…For the sick who are denied quality health care, we pray…
For an end to hunger and all poverty, we pray…
For equal opportunities for employment at a living wage for all, we pray…
For a new spirit of justice and peace for all God’s people, we pray…
For a new spirit of hope and joy as we work to create a welcoming community, we pray…
Prayers
Let there be an end to the chain of hatred
and terrorism,
which threatens the orderly development of
the human family.
May God grant that we be free
from the peril of a tragic clashbetween cultures and religions.
May faith and love of God
make the followers of every religion
courageous builders of understanding and forgiveness,
patient weavers of a fruitful inter-religious dialogue,
capable of inaugurating a new era of justice and peace.
- John Paul II, "Urbi et Orbi”
message, Easter, 2003
+++++
God of the universe, God of our hearts.
We thank you for the gift of Jesus, whose
resurrection we celebrate this month. We thank you for the model he was to us
while on earth - a model of wisdom, loving kindness, and mercifulness. We thank
you for his fierce compassion for humankind.
We ask that we will be mindful of Jesus'
example as we engage with others, whether they are powerful or powerless. We
ask that we remember to pray for our enemies and to bless those who mock,
criticize, and persecute us.
We pray for peace for this world. We ask
you to breathe peace into those areas of profound generational conflict.
Breathe your deep peace like an emergency medic breathes air into endangered
lungs. Resuscitate hope for peace into the people living in these lands.
Breathe hope for peace into us as well.
We thank you for the gift of presenting
these requests, these concerns, before you. We are grateful that you bend your
ear, your heart, toward us. We are confident that you hear our prayers and will
act on them. We praise and bless your holy name, Amen.