20150404 CHRIST OUR LIGHT LIBERATES US FROM DARKNESS

20150404 CHRIST OUR LIGHT LIBERATES US FROM DARKNESS

Readings at Mass

There is no Mass on Holy Saturday itself. Here are the readings for the evening Easter Vigil.

First reading

Genesis 1:1-2:2 ©

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.

  God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.

  God said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning came: the second day.

  God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.

  God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.

  God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.

  God said, ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.’ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.

  God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beast.’ And so it was. God made every kind of wild beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good.

  God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’

God created man in the image of himself,

in the image of God he created him,

male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.

  Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing.

Psalm

Psalm 103:1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35 ©

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

  Lord God, how great you are,

clothed in majesty and glory,

  wrapped in light as in a robe!

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

You founded the earth on its base,

  to stand firm from age to age.

You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak:

  the waters stood higher than the mountains.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

  they flow in between the hills.

On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;

  from the branches they sing their song.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

From your dwelling you water the hills;

  earth drinks its fill of your gift.

You make the grass grow for the cattle

  and the plants to serve man’s needs.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

How many are your works, O Lord!

  In wisdom you have made them all.

  The earth is full of your riches.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

Second reading

Exodus 14:15-15:1 ©

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’

  Then the angel of God, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer the whole night long.

  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

  In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’

  ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’

  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them.

  That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.

  It was then that Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song in honour of the Lord:

Canticle	Exodus 15 ©
Hymn of victory after crossing the Red Sea

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

  Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!

The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation.

  This is my God and I extol him,

  my father’s God and I give him praise.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

The Lord is a warrior! ‘The Lord’ is his name.

  The chariots of Pharaoh he hurled into the sea,

the flower of his army is drowned in the sea.

  The deeps hide them; they sank like a stone.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

Your right hand, Lord, glorious in its power,

  your right hand, Lord, has shattered the enemy.

  In the greatness of your glory you crushed the foe.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

You will lead your people and plant them on your mountain,

  the place, O Lord, where you have made your home,

the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made.

  The Lord will reign for ever and ever.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

Third reading

Isaiah 55:1-11 ©

Thus says the Lord:

Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;

though you have no money, come!

Buy corn without money, and eat,

and, at no cost, wine and milk.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

your wages on what fails to satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat

and rich food to enjoy.

Pay attention, come to me;

listen, and your soul will live.

With you I will make an everlasting covenant

out of the favours promised to David.

See, I have made of you a witness to the peoples,

a leader and a master of the nations.

See, you will summon a nation you never knew,

those unknown will come hurrying to you,

for the sake of the Lord your God,

of the Holy One of Israel who will glorify you.

Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.

Let the wicked man abandon his way,

the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,

to our God who is rich in forgiving;

for my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.

Yes, the heavens are as high above earth

as my ways are above your ways,

my thoughts above your thoughts.

Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.

Canticle	Isaiah 12 ©
The rejoicing of a redeemed people

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Truly, God is my salvation,

  I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song,

  he became my saviour.

With joy you will draw water

  from the wells of salvation.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

  Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!

  Declare the greatness of his name.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Sing a psalm to the Lord

  for he has done glorious deeds;

  make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,

  for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Fourth reading

Ezekiel 36:16-17,18-28 ©

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own land, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions. I then discharged my fury at them because of the blood they shed in their land and the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them in foreign countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. And now they have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, “These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land.”

  ‘But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.

  ‘And so, say to the House of Israel, “The Lord says this: I am not doing this for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land.

  ‘“I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.”’

.

Psalm

Psalm 41:2-3,5,42:3-4 ©

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,

  the God of my life;

when can I enter and see

  the face of God?

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

These things will I remember

  as I pour out my soul:

how I would lead the rejoicing crowd

  into the house of God,

amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,

  the throng wild with joy.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

O send forth your light and your truth;

  let these be my guide.

Let them bring me to your holy mountain,

  to the place where you dwell.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

And I will come to the altar of God,

  the God of my joy.

My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,

  O God, my God.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

Fifth Reading

Romans 6:3-11 ©

When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.

  If in union with Christ we have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his resurrection. We must realise that our former selves have been crucified with him to destroy this sinful body and to free us from the slavery of sin. When a Christian dies, of course, he has finished with sin.

  But we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

Psalm

Psalm 117:1-2,16-17,22-23 ©

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

  for his love has no end.

Let the sons of Israel say:

  ‘His love has no end.’

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;

  his right hand raised me up.

I shall not die, I shall live

  and recount his deeds.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

The stone which the builders rejected

  has become the corner stone.

This is the work of the Lord,

  a marvel in our eyes.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 16:1-8 ©

When the sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices with which to go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, just as the sun was rising.

  They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ But when they looked they could see that the stone – which was very big – had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right-hand side, and they were struck with amazement. But he said to them, ‘There is no need for alarm. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid him. But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him, just as he told you.”’

CHRIST OUR LIGHT LIBERATES US FROM DARKNESS

04 April 2015, Easter Vigil

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  Genesis 1:1–2:2; Psalm 103:1-2.5-6.10.12-14.24.35, Exodus 14:15–15:1;  Exodus 15 canticle, Isaiah 55:1-11;  Isaiah 12:2-6 canticle, Romans 6:3-11; Matthew 28:1-10

Four times in the Exultet, the refrain, the cry of “This is the night …” was sung.  What are these four nights that we are celebrating in this evening’s liturgy?  

The first night refers to the night of the Egyptian Passover, where the Israelites made the passage through the Red Sea.  “This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.   It was their liberation from slavery.  This was what we read in the Book of Exodus.  We too are making our Passover from slavery to freedom, death to life.  This is the experience of those newly baptized.

The second night refers to the journey through the desert which was illuminated by the pillar of fire, symbolically represented by the Easter candle.   If we remember, the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert and were tested by the Lord.  They fell into sin again and again.  So we are reminded how the Lord enlightened them by the pillar of fire.  As Christians too we have been enlightened in the truth by Christ who is our Light.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  Today, Christ the New Moses, the Light of the world leads us out of darkness as Moses did with the Israelites when the pillar of light led them in the darkness of the desert to the Promised Land.

The third night refers to the night of grace.  “This is the night that even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and from the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them to his holy ones.”  Indeed, Christ has overcome sin by His death on the cross because He reveals to us the mercy and love of God.  Our sins have been forgiven and washed clean through the waters of baptism, like the Israelites who crossed the Red Sea.   By His humble service to humanity, through His works and teaching, He has taught us to overcome slavery to self by dying to ourselves for others.  The real death that is necessary for us to live is when we live for others.

The fourth and last night we are celebrating is “the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld.”  The fear of death which is the cause of all sins and selfishness has been overcome by the resurrection of Christ.   Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. By His resurrection, we know that life continues in a fuller manner after death and that no one can take away our life.  Even if we were to die, we live on forever in Christ.  Because of His death and resurrection, Christ our radiant light and Morning Star that never sets assures us of victory over sin and death.

Indeed, of all nights, this is the Night we have been waiting for.  In darkness, we began this celebration. This is to remind us that without Christ, the world lives in the darkness of ignorance and sin.  God created the world good as the first reading tells us.   But the beauty of Creation has been destroyed by sin.  Because of sin, we suffer the consequent darkness of the intellect, the loss of integrity, the inability to integrate pain and death in our lives.   However, God continued to show us His mercy by choosing Abraham our Father in faith to lead us back to Him.   Throughout the centuries, we have been waiting for the Messiah to lead us back to God.

This is the night which we have kept vigil, like the servants awaiting their master’s return.   This is the night we, as Christ’s disciples, keep our candles lighted so that when Christ emerges from the tomb, He will find us awake and ready to celebrate His victory over sin and death.  Tonight is our Christian Passover, when we celebrate the passing from death to life, from sin to grace.

Tonight we celebrate the history of our salvation.  That is why the Liturgy of the Word traces for us the unfolding of God’s plan for us, beginning from Creation to the fall, to the election of Abraham, the liberation from Egypt, entry to the Promised Land, the Exile and finally, the advent of Christ into the world.  It demonstrates how the plan of God at Creation was destroyed by man, but God remained in control.  He sent the prophets, particularly Moses, and salvation is now complete in Christ, the New Moses.

This night is truly amazing!  We cannot but thank God for His love and mercy.  This is what the Exultet says.  “Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed.  O wonder of your humble care for us!  O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!”  Unimaginable indeed is God’s wisdom, love and mercy!   Hence, the Fathers of the Church could only in awe and gratitude exclaim, “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!  O Happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!” 

How, then, can we make this salvific experience our own?  The Exodus experience happened 3000 years ago.  Christ’s death and resurrection happened 2000 years ago.  Precisely, by celebrating this Easter Vigil which is THE memorial of the sacrifice of Christ!   Indeed, this Easter Vigil celebrates our redemption through Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.  The memorial that we refer to is not simply a commemoration of an event that happened in the past, as in a funeral service or an anniversary celebration.

This word, “memorial” must be understood in the Hebrew sense.  Whenever they celebrated the Passover, they were not just seeking to remember the Exodus event.  Rather, whenever the Passover is celebrated, they enter into the same saving effects and the experience of their forefathers when they were redeemed from the slavery of the Egyptians and passed over the Red Sea across the desert into the Promised Land.

In other words, “memorial” must be understood as an effective participation of the historical event that happened thousands of years ago.  This historical event is not made present as such but only the experience and the saving effects are made present.  An analogy of what we mean by “memorial” is the distinction we make between a painful event that happened in the past and our recollection of that same event, the psychological pain we suffer on recollection could be even more painful than the actual historical event. 

So, too, is the memorial of the Mass.  The Mass therefore is a representation of the historical event of Christ’s death on the cross.   Whenever we celebrate the Mass, we enter into the same experience of Christ’s passion and resurrection.  We also receive the same graces as well, even though the actual historical death of Jesus on the cross is not repeated.  The Mass only makes present the same sacrifice of Christ on the Cross at Calvary in a non-bloody way.

Only because of Christ’s death and resurrection, could we also continue to receive the saving effects of His death and resurrection through the sacraments.  These sacraments continue to form us and deepen our life as Christians and empower us to live our lives according to the gospel of Christ.

Through the sacrament of Baptism, we are invited to die with Christ by burying our sins with Him in the waters, wash clean and rise to a new life in Christ.  Through baptism, we renounce Satan and his works.   By dying to ourselves in Christ, the new life in the Spirit is given to us.  Baptism therefore is the gateway to the New Life in Christ.  We become sons and daughters in Christ.  Now we must continually die to sins. 

Secondly, having received our adopted sonship and daughtership in Christ, we are now members of God’s family.  We are joined to the Body of Christ.  But we need to strengthen our union with Christ and His Church through the frequent reception of the Eucharist.  We need to share in Christian fellowship around the banquet of our Lord in the celebration of the Eucharist.  In the Eucharist, the paschal mystery is renewed again.  Through the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are fed and nourished by the Lord’s healing presence and grace.  Through an attentive hearing of the Word of God, we are enlightened in truth and grow in wisdom.

The outcome of living a life of Christ is that of witnessing.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit at the sacrament of confirmation, we are now commissioned to be the messengers of His Good News in words and deeds.  Confirmation is to be a witness to the light and a joy in darkness.  We are to announce the Good News to all creation.  So let us be joyful witnesses of Christ because He is risen.  Let us resolve to live for Christ and for others.  We need to die like the grain so that others can live.  We can live for others provided we have conquered the fear of death that enslaves us from loving and giving.  If we are not afraid of death, then we can give ourselves fully to others without worrying about protecting our lives and our interests.  Of course, we must continually draw strength from Christ in the Eucharist and healing from the sacrament of reconciliation.  In this way, we find ourselves always refreshed, strengthened and nurtured by our Lord and at the same time, experience the saving effects of His death for us.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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