Easter Vigil 2026
The rubrics tell us that, however short it may be, the homily must not be omitted tonight. We have traced salvation history from creation right through to the Resurrection; we have rejoiced in the gifts of warmth and light; and, via St. Paul, we have seen the link between the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Lord, and our own baptism. Soon, we shall renew our baptismal promises, and make present Christ’s sacrifice in the mystery of the Eucharist. This is the greatest night of the year: it even knocks Christmas into a cocked hat.
In 2017, I celebrated the Easter Triduum at St. Joseph’s, Ansdell, and shortly before the Vigil, I nipped up the pulpit steps for a final look at the Gospel, having already composed mentally a short homily. My re-reading of the Gospel caused me to scrap that homily, and instantly formulate another, because I was struck forcibly by one statement which I hadn’t really noticed before: “and behold, Jesus met them”.
These women had been given the Good News by the angel, but initially they had only the angel’s word for it all. Then, suddenly, BANG! There is Jesus Himself meeting them. Any remaining doubts are scattered. Christ is risen, and is meeting them in the flesh.
What about us? We too have received the Good News, but Jesus hasn’t come to meet us—or has He? We do not yet see Him in His risen body, and to that extent we are dependent on faith, but is it true that He hasn’t met us?
Surely we have met Him in the gathering of His people—our fellow members of His body. Did not our hearts, like those of the Emmaus disciples, “burn within us” as we encountered Him in the Sacred Scriptures? And will He not meet us in His Body and Blood as we receive Him in the context of His paschal sacrifice? “Behold, Jesus met them.” Does He not come to meet us? By heck, He does!
