HOLY SATURDAY / EASTER VIGIL

He is not here, but he has been raised.

Have you ever walked through a cemetery? Often beautifully landscaped, a cemetery can be a serene and peaceful place. But walking among the gravestones can also be a somber, even painful, experience. That’s why most people don’t visit cemeteries for the scenery. They come to remember and mourn. They come to be close to someone they love.

Holy Saturday can seem like a walk through a cemetery. We might feel a certain heaviness as we recall Jesus’ passion and death. Like Mary Magdalene, we grieve for the Lord who suffered for us. We want to be close to him. We might even be looking for him “among the dead” as we grapple with the challenges in our lives (Luke 24:5). We may need to hear the words of the angel just as much as Mary and the other women did: “He is not here, but he has been raised” (Luke 24:6).

At the Vigil Mass tonight, we will hear the history of our salvation in Christ, a story that culminates in those words of hope: he has been raised. Like the women, we know that Jesus’ earthly body is not here. But with eyes of faith, we too can believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. With eyes of faith, we can see God’s promises fulfilled in Christ. We have more than our memories, more than a gravestone, more than an empty tomb. We have Jesus himself: living and present in our hearts, living and present in every Eucharist, and risen in glory with the Father.

Just as God raised Jesus from the darkness of the tomb, he will one day raise us to eternal life. On that day, our faith will become sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). But today, let the Mass readings remind you. Let two thousand years of Christian history remind you. Let the living presence of Jesus within you remind you. He is risen. The cemeteries of this life are not the end of the story: He is not here, but he has been raised.

“Lord Jesus, I believe that you are risen, alive, and with me today.”

Genesis 1:1–2:2
Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12-14, 24, 35
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12

WORD AMONG US