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Pope Francis presides at the Vatican’s Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 30, 2024 / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2024 / 17:22 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Saturday evening presided over the Easter Vigil Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica, reflecting on the gravity of Easter as a symbol of God’s reborn hope and the ultimate testament of life over death.
There were some concerns on Friday night about the pope’s wellbeing after the Holy Father canceled his attendance at Rome’s Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) at the last minute. The Holy See Press Office said the pope made the decision “to conserve his health” for the lengthy Easter Vigil liturgy.
“This is the Pasch of Christ, the revelation of God’s power: The victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope amid the ruins of failure. It is the Lord, the God of the impossible, who rolled away the stone forever,” the pope said on Saturday in front of nearly 6,000 faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
“He is the one who brings us from darkness into light, who is bound to us forever, who rescues us from the abyss of sin and death, and draws us into the radiant realm of forgiveness and eternal life,” the pope continued in his homily.
The dramatic liturgy opened with Saint Peter’s Basilica shrouded in darkness. The Holy Father was positioned in front of the 15th century Filarete Door (covered in a white curtain and an embroidered tapestry of the resurrected Christ).
The pope inscribed a cross and the alpha and omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) on the white paschal candle, symbolizing Christ’s resurrection and the Christian hope of a new life in him.
Processing up the central nave of the basilica, a deacon carried the candle, pausing and chanting at three different times “Lumen Christi” (Light of Christ) to which the congregation responded “Deo Gratias” (Thanks be to God).
This moment was followed by the chanting of the Exultet, or the Easter proclamation, an ancient prayer which invites the faithful to join the church in celebrating Christ’s resurrection.
Pope Francis opened his homily by reflecting on the anguish and consternation of the women depicted in the Gospel who with “the tears of Good Friday … not yet dried” approached the tomb that had been obstructed with a stone.
“That stone, an overwhelming obstacle, symbolized what the women felt in their hearts. It represented the end of their hopes, now dashed by the obscure and sorrowful mystery that put an end to their dreams.”
“That stone marked the end of Jesus’ story, now buried in the night of death. He, the life that came into the world, had been killed,” the pope continued.
But, the pope noted, the women, upon casting their gazes upward, found the stone rolled away, a moment showcasing “the victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope amid the ruins of failure.”
The pope related the initial anguish, and hope, of the women present at the sepulchre, noting that today we each “encounter such ‘tombstones’ on our journey through life in all the experiences and situations that rob us of enthusiasm and of the strength to persevere.”
Yet the pope implored the faithful to not succumb to despondency but instead draw hope from the resurrection.
“If we allow Jesus to take us by the hand, no experience of failure or sorrow, however painful, will have the last word on the meaning and destiny of our lives. Henceforth, if we allow ourselves to be raised up by the Risen Lord, no setback, no suffering, no death will be able to halt our progress towards the fullness of life.”
“Then no stone will block the way to our hearts, no tomb will suppress the joy of life, no failure will doom us to despair,” the pope continued. “Let us lift our eyes to him and ask that the power of his resurrection may roll away the heavy stones that weigh down our souls.”
Following a brief moment of reflection at the end of the homily, Pope Francis opened up the baptismal rite. With the blessing of the water, and a public recitation of vows, the Holy Father personally baptized eight adults: four Italians, two Koreans, a Japanese man, and an Albanian.
Pope Francis speaks at the Vatican’s Easter Vigil, March 30, 2024 / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The following is the text of Pope Francis’ homily delivered at the Vatican’s 2024 Easter Vigil.
The women go to the tomb at daybreak, yet they still feel the darkness of night. They continue to walk, yet their hearts remain at the foot of the cross. The tears of Good Friday are not yet dried; they are grief-stricken, overwhelmed by the sense that all has been said and done. A stone has sealed the fate of Jesus. They are concerned about that stone, for they wonder: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (Mk 16:3). Yet once they arrive, they are taken aback when they see the amazing power of the Easter event: “When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back” (Mk 16:4).
Let us stop and reflect on these two moments, which bring us to the unexpected joy of Easter. The woman anxiously wonder: Who will roll away the stone from the tomb? Then, looking up, they see that it had already been rolled back.
First, there is the question that troubles their grieving hearts: Who will roll away the stone from the tomb? That stone marked the end of Jesus’ story, now buried in the night of death. He, the life that came into the world, had been killed. He, who proclaimed the merciful love of the Father, had met with no mercy. He, who relieved sinners of the burden of their condemnation, had been condemned to the cross. The Prince of Peace, who freed a woman caught in adultery from a vicious stoning, now lay buried behind a great stone. That stone, an overwhelming obstacle, symbolized what the women felt in their hearts. It represented the end of their hopes, now dashed by the obscure and sorrowful mystery that put an end to their dreams.
Brothers and sisters, it can also be that way with us. There are times when we may feel that a great stone blocks the door of our hearts, stifling life, extinguishing hope, imprisoning us in the tomb of our fears and regrets, and standing in the way of joy and hope. We encounter such “tombstones” on our journey through life in all the experiences and situations that rob us of enthusiasm and of the strength to persevere. We encounter them at times of sorrow: in the emptiness left by the death of our loved ones, in the failures and fears that hold us back from accomplishing the good we mean to do. We encounter them in all the forms of self-absorption that stifle our impulses to generosity and sincere love, in the rubber walls of selfishness and indifference that hold us back in the effort to build more just and humane cities and societies, in all our aspirations for peace that are shattered by cruel hatred and the brutality of war. When we experience these disappointments, do we also have the sensation that all these dreams are doomed to failure, and that we too should ask ourselves in anguish: “Who will roll away the stone from the tomb?”
Yet the same women who bore this darkness in their hearts tell us something quite extraordinary. When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. This is the Pasch of Christ, the revelation of God’s power: the victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope amid the ruins of failure. It is the Lord, the God of the impossible, who rolled away the stone forever. Even now, he opens our tombs, so that hope may be born ever anew. We too, then, should “look up” to him.
Let us look up, then, to Jesus. After assuming our humanity, he descended into the depths of death and filled them with the power of his divine life, allowing an infinite ray of light to break through for each of us. Raised up by the Father in his, and our, flesh, in the power of the Holy Spirit, he turned a new page in the history of the human race. Henceforth, if we allow Jesus to take us by the hand, no experience of failure or sorrow, however painful, will have the last word on the meaning and destiny of our lives. Henceforth, if we allow ourselves to be raised up by the Risen Lord, no setback, no suffering, no death will be able to halt our progress towards the fullness of life. Henceforth, “we Christians proclaim that this history… has meaning, an all-embracing meaning… a meaning no longer tainted by absurdity and shadows… a meaning that we call God… All the waters of our transformation converge on him; they do not pour down into the depths of nothingness and absurdity… For his tomb is empty and the One who died has now been revealed as the Living One.”
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is our Pasch. He is the One who brings us from darkness into light, who is bound to us forever, who rescues us from the abyss of sin and death, and draws us into the radiant realm of forgiveness and eternal life. Let us look up to him! Let us welcome Jesus, the God of life, into our lives, and today once again say “yes” to him. Then no stone will block the way to our hearts, no tomb will suppress the joy of life, no failure will doom us to despair. Let us lift our eyes to him and ask that the power of his resurrection may roll away the heavy stones that weigh down our souls. Let us lift our eyes to him, the Risen Lord, and press forward in the certainty that, against the obscure backdrop of our failed hopes and our deaths, the eternal life that he came to bring is even now present in our midst.
Sister, brother, let your heart burst with jubilation on this holy night! Together let us sing of Jesus’ resurrection: “Sing to him, distant lands, rivers and plains, deserts and mountains … Sing to the Lord of life, risen from the tomb, more brilliant than a thousand suns. All peoples beset by evil and plagued by injustice, all peoples displaced and devastated: on this holy night cast aside your songs of sadness and despair. The Man of Sorrows is no longer in prison: he has opened a breach in the wall; he is hastening to meet you. In the darkness, let an unexpected shout of joy resound: He is alive; he is risen! And you, my brothers and sisters, small and great … you who are weary of life, who feel unworthy to sing… let a new flame be kindled in your heart, let new vitality be heard in your voice. It is the Pasch of the Lord; it is the feast of the living.”
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