Easter Triduum, 2018
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This page includes the homilies for Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Day.
Solemn Easter Vigil 2018:
A Light Unlike Any Other
Msgr. Thomas Gervasio
Lumen Christi!
"The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. (Jn 1:5) This is how Saint John at the beginning of his Gospel describes the coming of the Lord into the world. Yet on this holy night we celebrate the victory of Light over darkness!
At the beginning of our sacred liturgy, the deacon carried into the dark church, the Paschal Candle, the symbol of Christ, the Light of the world. From the “new fire’ of this candle other candles, held by the faithful were lighted so that little by little the church was filled with light.
The deacon then sang the Exultet, the hymn of praise to Christ our Redeemer who has “called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pt 2:9) "O felix culpa, O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! (Exultet) So great is our joy and wonder at receiving the gift of salvation, that sin itself seems worthy of being a called a blessing!
What is darkness if not the symbol of sin and death? And what is light if not the symbol of life that conquers death? Easter celebrates this victory!
The women going to the tomb to anoint the body of Christ wondered who would roll back the great stone that sealed its entrance. But upon arriving, they saw that the stone had been rolled back and there was an angel who said: “Do not be amazed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised. He is not here.” (Mt. 28:5-6)
At Easter, symbols seek to convey the marvelous truths of our faith. Jesus our Life, was nailed to a cross, but “through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race.” (Jn 1:4) St. Matthew relates that on Good Friday, “darkness came over the whole land,” (27: 45) but Easter Sunday scatters that darkness with the splendor of Christ’s light.
During the Easter Vigil the Church addresses the catechumens, the Elect with the words of Saint Paul:
“Are you unaware that we who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, we too might live in new life…If then we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 6: 3-4, 8, 11)
These words resonate in a particular way for you, brothers and sisters who will soon be baptized, sealed with Sacred Chrism, and approach the Eucharistic Table for the first time. Our parish unites itself to your joy and thanksgiving. Our community offers it’s thanks to our RCIA team and to your good sponsors who have been sure guides to this sacred encounter.
May we never be afraid of the light of Christ! May we never hide from it! His Gospel is a light that is never extinguished but is made ever more brilliant by the faithful witness of the baptized. You, dear Elect are to be witnesses to the Gospel, enlivened by the Holy Spirit whose gifts will soon be poured out abundantly into your hearts.
To be baptized means to be immersed into the mystery of God’s love that flows from the pierced heart of Christ crucified. Tonight the symbol of light is joined to that of water reminding us that through baptism we have been reborn by water and the Spirit to share in a new life revealed by the Resurrection.
O truly blessed night that brings us the limitless splendor of Christ’s light—illumine with hope and peace our hearts and every corner of the earth!
Amen! Alleluia!
Easter Sunday 2018
Msgr. Thomas Gervasio
Lumen Christi!
"The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. (Jn 1:5) This is how Saint John at the beginning of his Gospel describes the coming of the Lord into the world. Yet on this holy night we proclaim that the Light has conquered the darkness!
Last night at the Solemn Vigil, the deacon carried into a dark church, the Paschal Candle, the symbol of Christ, the Light of the world. It is placed here before us and will remain here throughout the fifty day Easter Season. The deacon then sang the Exsultet, the hymn of praise to Christ our Redeemer who has “called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pt 2:9) He sang out these rather strange words: "O felix culpa, O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! (Exsultet) So great is our joy and wonder at receiving the gift of salvation, that sin itself seems worthy of being a called a blessing!
What is darkness if not the symbol of sin and death? And what is light if not the symbol of life that conquers death? Easter celebrates this victory!
This morning we hear the account from St. John which proclaims that victory. Mary of Magdala discovers the unsealed, empty tomb and becomes the first evangelizer of the Gospel! St. Matthew relates that on Good Friday, “darkness came over the whole land,” (27: 45) Easter Sunday scatters that darkness with the splendor of Christ’s light.
Easter Sunday is called the “Solemnity of solemnities” and it is a day that all Christians gathered in the Lord’s House, renew their baptismal promises.
Consider the words of Saint Paul: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?...If then we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 6: 3-4, 8, 11)
In today’s epistle he says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” (Col 3:4) This is the light, the hope that sustains us through life!
May we never be afraid of that light! May we never hide from it! May we never allow it to dim or be extinguished. May the limitless splendor of Christ’s light—illumine with hope and peace our hearts and every corner of the earth! Amen! Alleluia!
Good Friday
Good Friday:
The Cross: Unmerited and Unremitting Love
Msgr. Thomas Gervasio
(Based on the Reflections of Angelo Cardinal Comastri)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him, might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (Jn 3: 17)
Yes! Because God is infinite love, goodness, tenderness and mercy, He has, if you will, an “irresistible” desire to save us. This is the most beautiful truth of our faith. This is the loving face of God that Jesus has shown us. But alas, this is the truth with which the human heart struggles. It is the truth most betrayed by believers.
If we look at the history of Israel, we discover that the entire relationship between God and his people is one of fidelity and infidelity, of love and betrayal, of giving and refusing.
It seems as if God’s love is incapable of being understood; incapable of a finding a way into the heart of God’s people. We hear God’s lament in the fifth chapter of Isaiah: “My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside…He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines. Within it he built a watchtower…Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.” (Is 5: 1-2) This tragedy prompted God to ask, “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I look for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Is 5:4)
This rejection of Divine Love is a mystery that even causes God to suffer. Yet, we hear God’s heartfelt plea: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even if she forgets, I will never forget you. See, upon the palm of my hands I have written your name.” (Is 49: 15-16) Are there words more moving than these? Can God get any closer to us than this?
The prophet Hosea also speaks of the betrayal of God’s love. We hear God express his heartache: “When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me…yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love. I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks. Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.” (Ho 11: 1-4)
Even when man’s ingratitude and infidelity provokes God’s anger, he relents. Love prevails! God says: “How could I give you up O Ephraim, or deliver you up, O Israel? …My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God and not man, the Holy One among you. I will not let the flames consume you.” (Ho 11: 8-9)
Today, in Christ Crucified we see again the drama of God that is not understood, not believed, not loved, by me, by you, by us! Today, above all days, Jesus waits for us at the foot of the cross. Today is the time to allow ourselves to be forgiven, loved and saved. Let us go then to the foot of the Cross and speak to the Lord and allow him to speak to us:O Jesus, at the foot of your Cross, I pause to reflect:
I have helped to make this cross by my sins.
Your infinite goodness that allows itself to be crucified without resistance is a mystery that is beyond my understanding and profoundly moves me.
Lord, you came into the world for me, to search me out,
to bring me to the embrace of the Father, the embrace that I need so much.
You are the Face of goodness and mercy and so you desire that I be saved.
Within me there is darkness—come with your clear light!
Within me there is so much selfishness—come with your boundless charity!
Within me there is so much pride—come with your extraordinary humility!
Lord, I am the sinner to saved—I am the prodigal son who must return!
Lord, grant me the gift of tears to rediscover the freedom, life, peace and joy
that is in You. Amen.