Pope Francis celebrating the Easter Vigil Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica (photo by Vatican Media)
In the midst of the global pandemic, Pope Francis presided over the Easter Vigil Mass commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead at an empty St. Peter’s Basilica
Comparing the silence of Holy Saturday to the silence of the world is experiencing because of the lockdowns imposed by each country to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Pope Francis highlighted the message of courage and hope displayed by the women of Jerusalem who came to anoint the body of Jesus as recounted in the Gospel reading of the Mas.
“At dawn the women went to the tomb. There the angel says to them: “Do not be afraid. He is not here; for he has risen”. They hear the words of life even as they stand before a tomb… And then they meet Jesus, the giver of all hope, who confirms the message and says: “Do not be afraid”. Do not be afraid, do not yield to fear: This is the message of hope. It is addressed to us, today. These are the words that God repeats to us this very night.”
The Pope said that the night’s Mass gives everyone the “fundamental right that can never be taken away from us: the right to hope.”
“It is a new and living hope that comes from God. It is not mere optimism; it is not a pat on the back or an empty word of encouragement. It is a gift from heaven, which we could not have earned on our own,” he said.
“Over these weeks, we have kept repeating, “All will be well”, clinging to the beauty of our humanity and allowing words of encouragement to rise up from our hearts. But as the days go by and fears grow, even the boldest hope can dissipate.”
But even in the midst of seeming hopelessness, the pope reminded that “Jesus’ hope is different.”
“He plants in our hearts the conviction that God is able to make everything work unto good, because even from the grave he brings life.”
He compared the sense of hopeless to someone who was placed inside a tomb and is never to be expected to come out alive. But, the pope said, Jesus emerged from the tomb for us; “to bring life where there was death, to begin a new story in the very place where a stone had been placed.”
The Holy Father said that if Christ removed the great rock that sealed His tomb, so we must ask Christ to remove the stones in our hearts.
“So, let us not give in to resignation; let us not place a stone before hope. We can and must hope, because God is faithful. He did not abandon us; he visited us and entered into our situations of pain, anguish and death. His light dispelled the darkness of the tomb: today he wants that light to penetrate even to the darkest corners of our lives. Dear sister, dear brother, even if in your heart you have buried hope, do not give up: God is greater. Darkness and death do not have the last word. Be strong, for with God nothing is lost!”
Next, the pope talked about courage, which he stressed, one cannot be given to one’s self but can be received as a gift.
“All you have to do is open your heart in prayer and roll away, however slightly, that stone placed at the entrance to your heart so that Jesus’ light can enter. You only need to ask him: “Jesus, come to me amid my fears and tell me too: Courage!” With you, Lord, we will be tested but not shaken. And, whatever sadness may dwell in us, we will be strengthened in hope, since with you the cross leads to the resurrection, because you are with us in the darkness of our nights; you are certainty amid our uncertainties, the word that speaks in our silence, and nothing can ever rob us of the love you have for us.”
Finally, he emphasized, that aside from the Easter message of hope, those who received the great joyful message of the resurrection are sent forth to proclaim it just as the women from Jerusalem who received the great news of Jesus’ resurrection went about spreading the news to everyone.
“Jesus sends them there and asks them to start again from there. What does this tell us? That the message of hope should not be confined to our sacred places, but should be brought to everyone,”
He said that during troubling times, it is “beautiful” to be Christians who “offer consolation, who bear the burdens of others and who offer encouragement: messengers of life in a time of death!”
“Let us silence the cries of death, no more wars! May we stop the production and trade of weapons, since we need bread, not guns. Let the abortion and killing of innocent lives end. May the hearts of those who have enough be open to filling the empty hands of those who do not have the bare necessities,” he said.
Pope Francis celebrated the Easter Vigil Mass from the Altar of the Chair, which is in the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica, instead on the Main Altar under the great bronze canopy of Bernini. He celebrated the Easter Vigil Mass at 9 p.m. with just a handful of clerics and assistants and members of the choir, with no laity, present.
Due to the pandemic and lockdown in Italy, significant changes were made to the Pope’s Easter Vigil Mass.
The vigil usually begins at the back of the basilica for the “Blessing of the New Fire” before he processes to the main altar. He did the blessing of the fire at the Altar of the Chair, where a bronze image of a huge chair is suspended in the air, held high by four Fathers of the Church acting as honor guards.
The papal tradition of administering the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion to new Catholic converts during the vigil was also omitted.
The pope’s next public liturgy will be the celebration of Easter Sunday Mass at 5 pm, Manila time. This will be again celebrated at the Altar of the Chair with no congregation present. This will be followed by the Pope’s traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and to the World) message and blessing, usually given only on Christmas and Easter. (Rommel F. Lopez)