Easter Vigil: Rejoicing in the resurrection of ‘Christ, Our Light’

The Cathedral of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart was filled with darkness on the early evening of April 4. Like the tomb of Jesus, hewn from rock, the sacred space was waiting in the silence for God’s light to appear.

Outside the cathedral doors, a small fire blazed, and before it stood Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, surrounded by clergy, altar servers, catechumens, and worshippers who had come to celebrate the Easter Vigil. Held in Catholic churches around the world on Holy Saturday after sundown, it is the longest and arguably the most beautiful service of the liturgical year, recalling the story of salvation history which culminates in the Resurrection.

“Dear brothers and sisters, on this most sacred night, in which our Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life, the Church calls on her sons and daughters, scattered throughout the world, to come together and watch and pray,” Cardinal Tobin intoned. “If we keep the memorial of the Lord’s paschal solemnity, listening to his word and celebrating his mysteries, then we shall have the sure hope of sharing his triumph over death and living with him in God.”

Praying that “the light of Christ rising in glory” would “dispel the darkness in our hearts and minds,” Cardinal Tobin then lit the Paschal candle. It was carried into the cathedral, and, slowly, one by one, hundreds of smaller candles held by worshippers were lit as they sang their thanks for “Christ, our light.”

Listening to a story “of expectation and hope”

During the Liturgy of the Word, seven readings from the Old Testament recounted key moments in the story of salvation, starting with God’s creation of the world, the calling of Abraham, and how Moses led the Israelites to freedom through the Red Sea, along with psalms that praised God for his goodness and mercy. Half an hour passed before Deacon Asterio Velasco read the Gospel, recounting how Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” were greeted by the angel at the opened tomb, and how he informed them that Christ had risen from the dead.

EV26 - Cardinal Tobin homily “There are no shortcuts in this vigil,” Cardinal Tobin said in his homily, delivered in Spanish and English, and directed principally to the 36 catechumens seated at the front of the congregation. “The fact is that the very length of the vigil makes us wait and wait. We watch, and more importantly, we listen.”

The Easter Vigil takes worshippers “on a journey of expectation and hope, from darkness to light,” the cardinal said. “Easter does not begin with a proclamation of victory, but listening, listening to a story, a story that confronts death with life. In the liturgy of this past week, the reality of suffering and death was neither avoided nor minimalized.”

Cardinal Tobin explained that all the readings led to a moment that is “not simply one more detail in a story we know too well,” the angel sitting atop the stone that he had rolled away from the tomb of Jesus. “It is the heart of a passage that shakes the whole world, a stone removed not by human strength, but by divine power.”

“At this moment, it seems that there is no one who can roll away the stones from the tombs of suffering continuously created by war, by prejudice, by persecution,” he continued. “But precisely for this reason, we listen with greater urgency to the question the women carried in their hearts that first morning. Who will roll back the stone for us?”

He reminded the congregation that the answer was not “an empty proclamation, but an actual occurrence.”

“The stone has been rolled away, not by our strength, but by the power of God’s love, which is stronger than death,” the cardinal said.

He concluded by encouraging those gathered to become “living stones — signs of reconciliation, artisans of hope, witnesses to a life that can no longer be extinguished.”

36 welcomed into the Catholic Church

After the homily, the catechumens were welcomed into full communion with the Catholic Church, receiving the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. They also received the Eucharist for the first time during the vigil Mass.

“While some might say that the relevance of Christianity is waning, the power and attraction of Jesus Christ were unmistakably on full display during my first Easter as rector of the Cathedral Basilica,” said Father Matthew Gonzalez, who was installed as rector last November. He said it was “extraordinary” that the cathedral had 36 newly-initiated youth and adults this year.

“It was a moving moment to witness, and a powerful sign that the Lord continues to draw human hearts to Himself,” Father Gonzalez said.

Throughout the archdiocese, hundreds of other catechumens were also welcomed into the Church, with 645 expected to receive the Sacraments of Initiation during this year’s Easter Vigil liturgies, a dramatic increase from previous years. More than a thousand other candidates who have already been baptized will celebrate first Holy Communions and/or Confirmations during the Easter season.

“I believe we are seeing a new springtime blossoming in the life of the Church in Newark!” Father Gonzalez said.

CLICK HERE to view more images from the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

You can watch video highlights of the Easter Vigil Mass below or visit HERE to view the entire Mass:

Featured image: The Paschal candle is lit outside the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the beginning of the Easter vigil on April 4. (Photos by Julio Eduardo Herrera / Archdiocese of Newark)