March 29 Homily for the Easter vigil
Easter Vigil 2013
Tonight is all about new things. There is a new fire. There will be new water. There will be new Christians because we recognize that with the Resurrection there is new life. We praise God for this merciful gift by singing again the Gloria and many Alleluias. The newness that began all the way back to Bethlehem when the Incarnate Word filled a manger as a little baby comes to fulfillment when fully grown and Crucified for our sins, he leaves us an empty tomb.
Death and sin no longer have power over us. It is been conquered by the resurrection grace that flows from the opened tomb like a flood of water. WE no longer look for the living one among the dead, because he has left death behind and opened the path way to everlasting life.
The resurrection is not just something that happened a lot time ago in a far away country. Jesus Christ now goes beyond time and space to touch every human heart and open every human eye to see his glory. Easter is again today and this day is so long that in fact we celebrate it for eight straight days. Light has overcome darkness, just as the Easter Candle towers over us tonight.
For those of you who have accepted the invitation of the Lord to follow him, Catechumens and candidates for full communion, you receive priceless gifts that will never leave you and serious duties that you can carry out only with the help of Jesus Christ and his Church. You truly begin a new life tonight both in the eyes of God and in the eyes of all of us.
How blessed you are to hear his voice and walk beside him. After these mysteries, your lives will never be the same.
In the waters of Baptism you are washed clean and brought into a deep and personal relationship with God. The God who created you and saw you as his wonderful creature now sees you as his beautiful child. He seals his love for you through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, helping you to choose the good, filling you with peace, and strengthening to carry your crosses whatever they may be. The Sacred Chrism with which you are anointed in the Sacrament of Confirmation creates a permanent place for the Holy Spirit to shape you and comfort you and encourage you to live your faith in a public way without fear.
In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, which you receive tonight for the first time, you will know an intimacy to Jesus Christ that you have never known before. His Body and Blood becomes our daily food, so that as we live in the world and spend ourselves in the love of others, he will renew us with a love that will never be exhausted.
You also receive a mission tonight. It is the same mission that every one of us first received at our Baptism. It is to be a public witness to the power of the love of Jesus Christ through love of God and neighbor, through daily prayer and sacrifice, by your ability to forgive, to serve and to obey Christ our Teacher. If you feel overwhelmed by this, you should. But remember that all of this cannot to be done if not for the Holy Spirit of our Risen Lord that you receive tonight. Your Baptism is not just a moment in time, that you leave behind and then move on to other things.
Rather it is a reality that is to be lived out and reflected upon every single day of the rest of your life. These sacraments now make up your life.
Tonight, all throughout the world, men and women like you start a new life. We thank God that you will be joining the Lord and all of us on this journey of faith. We are grateful for what you bring to the Church, and you can be assured not only of the Church’s prayers and support of you, but also Christ’s healing grace and presence in your heart.
