Vatican City - "Roll away the stone of the tombs in which we often imprison our hope" with full confidence for the future since Christ is risen and "changed the direction of history", said Pope Francis as he presided over the traditional Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter in a full Saint Peter's Basilica on Saturday evening.
The celebrations started inside at the entrance of the Basilica with the evocative rite of the blessing of fire followed by the candlelight procession while Lumen Christi was sung and the Basilica lights came on in all their brilliance. The celebration included the baptism and confirmation of eight catechumens from Albania, the United States, Nigeria, Italy and Venezuela.
In his homily, Pope Francis underscored how the women who set out to visit Jesus' tomb and found it empty underwent an incredible experience that marked a passage from the immense sorrow of over Jesus' death to experiencing utter amazement over the Lord's resurrection. And this journey from sadness to indescribable joy is one to which we are all called.
The Lord is Risen
Reflecting on the Gospel reading during the Easter Vigil, Pope Francis described how the women who set out to visit Jesus' tomb saw their grief turn into amazement and joy after witnessing the empty tomb and the Risen Lord who calls the disciples in Galilee. He noted how the rebirth of the disciples and the resurrection of their hearts would call for them to return to their faith origins in Galilee.
From sorrow to joy
Sometimes we also can get overwhelmed with sorrow, Pope Francis observed, when we only see the present in terms of tombs of disappointment, bitterness or dismay, believing nothing can change.
And we can sometimes archive in our minds our first faith encounter with the Lord as something that belongs to the past and has less relevance in today's difficult world marked by darkness, war, indifference and an uncertain future. This disillusionment, Pope Francis observed, can lead to the wellspring of hope drying up within us.
Baptism during the Easter Vigil celebration in Saint Peter's Basilica/Vatican News
Memory that regenerates hope
The women at Easter became immediately transformed by their experience of the empty tomb and the Lord's resurrection, Pope Francis explained. They ran away quickly, in part fearful but overwhelmed by joy to tell the disciples about this news "that will change life and history forever: Christ is risen!"
They also tell them about Lord's summons to Galilee, where their life-changing experiences with the Lord began where He first called the disciples. Pope Francis said this signifies a return to "the grace of the beginnings, to regain the memory that regenerates hope, the 'memory of the future' bestowed on us by the Risen One."
Moving forward with hope
The Lord's resurrection motivates us to go forward in hope and joy. The return to Galilee calls on us to return to "the grace of our own past," Pope Francis suggested, in order to revive the memory of our experience of the Lord's love and when we "received a radiantly new way of seeing ourselves, the world around us and the mystery of life itself."
Remember your own Galilee
Remembering when we came to know the Lord personally, as God who is at our side who knows and loves us, is a key element here, Pope Francis explained.
“Brother, sister, remember Galilee, your Galilee, and your call. Remember the Word of God who at a precise moment spoke directly to you. Remember that powerful experience of the Spirit.”
When we remember our first encounter with the Lord, the foundation of our belief and faith, we respond to the Lord's call to return to Galilee to celebrate the Risen Lord, to relive that experience, the emotions and sensations. This renews and strengthens our moving forward in the Risen Lord, Pope Francis emphasized, and rolls away the stone from the tombs of our faded faith or lost hopes.
"Remember and keep moving forward," Pope Francis said, "and rediscover the grace of God’s resurrection within you!"
“Dear brothers and sisters, let us follow Jesus to Galilee, encounter him and worship him there, where he is waiting for each of us. Let us revive the beauty of that moment when we realized that he is alive and we made him the Lord of our lives...Let us rise to new life!”
-VN