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Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

From: Romans 6:3-11

Baptism (Continuation)

[3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death? [4] We were buried therefore with
Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

[5] For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall
certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. [6] We know
that our old self was crucified with Him so that the sinful body might
be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For He
who has died is freed from sin. [8] But if we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with Him. [9] For we know that
Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer
has dominion over him. [10] The death He died He died to sin once for
all, but the life He lives He lives to God. [11] So you also must
consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Commentary:

1-11. The universal dominion of sin, which began with the sin of Adam,
is not the only event to be reckoned with. When sin reached its full
extent, the grace brought by Jesus Christ came in superabundance.
Through Baptism this grace reaches each of us and frees us from the
control of sin. When we receive this Sacrament we die: that is to say,
our blameworthiness is destroyed, we renounce sin once and for all, and
are born again into a new life.

"The Lord", St. Ambrose tells the newly baptized, "who wanted His
benefactions to endure, the serpent's plans to be turned to naught, and
the harm done to be put right, delivered a sentence to mankind: 'You
are dust, and to dust you shall return' (Genesis 3:19), and made man
subject to death [...]. The remedy was given him: man would die and
rise again [...]. You ask me how? [...] Pay attention. So that in
this world too the devil's snare would be broken, a rite was instituted
whereby man would die, being alive, and rise again, being alive [...].
Through immersion in water the sentence is blotted out: 'You are dust,
and to dust you shall return'" ("De Sacramentis", II, 6).

This passage of the epistle, which reveals the key truths concerning
Baptism, also reminds us of the profound meaning of this rite which
Christ established, its spiritual effects in Christians and its
far-reaching effects with respect to the Christian life. Thus, we can
apply to Baptism what St. Thomas Aquinas says about all the sacraments:
"Three aspects of sanctification may be considered--its very cause,
which is Christ's Passion; its form, which is grace and the virtues;
and its ultimate end, which is eternal life. And all these are
signified by the sacraments. Consequently, a sacrament is a sign which
is both a reminder of the past, that is, of the Passion of Christ, and
an indication of what is effected in us by Christ's Passion, and a
foretelling and pledge of future glory" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q.
60, a. 3).

In the specific case of Baptism, the various things which the Sacrament
implies carry a special nuance--a new birth which presupposes a
symbolic death. It reproduces in us not only the Passion, Death and
burial of Christ, symbolized by immersion in water (verses 3-4, 6), but
also new life, the life of grace which pours into the soul, enabling
the person to share in the Resurrection of Christ (verses 4-5). This
sharing in Christ's Resurrection to immortal life is a kind of seed
which will ultimately produce the glorious resurrection of our bodies.

The baptized person is, therefore, someone newly created, someone born
into a new life, someone who has moved out of darkness into light. The
white garment used at Baptism symbolizes innocence and grace; the
burning candle, the light of Christ--two symbols the Church uses in the
baptismal liturgy to signify what is happening.

Thus, in Baptism, God "removes every trace of sin, whether original or
personal" ("The Rite of Baptism", Introduction, 5) and also remits the
penalties that these sins incur. On being baptized in the name of the
Three Divine Persons, the Christian is shown God the Father's love for
him (a love he has not merited), is given a share in the Paschal
Mystery of the Son, and to him is communicated new life in the Spirit
(cf. "Instruction on Infant Baptism", 20 October 1980, 9). Baptism,
which is also described as "the door of the spiritual life", unites a
person to Christ and to the Church by means of grace, which makes us
children of God and heirs to Heaven. Finally, in addition to the
infused virtues and supernatural gifts, the person is given "the graces
necessary to live in a Christian way, and on his soul is impressed the
sacramental character which makes him a Christian for evermore"
("St. Pius X Catechism", 250).

Baptism, which confers a "character", that is, a kind of seal
confirming our Christian calling, gives us a share in Christ's
priesthood and makes us capable of receiving the other sacraments.

4. It is easier to grasp the symbolism of burial and resurrection if
one remembers that in earlier times, and particularly in the apostolic
period, Baptism was usually administered by immersion in water--in some
cases by total immersion, up to three times, with one Person of the
Blessed Trinity being invoked each time. "They asked you, 'Do you
believe in God the Father almighty?' You said, 'I believe', and you
were immersed, that is, you were buried. Again they asked you, 'Do you
believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Cross?' You said,
'I believe', and you were again immersed. This time you have been
buried with Christ, and he who is buried with Christ rises with Christ.
For a third time you were asked, 'Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?'
You said, 'I believe', and for a third time you were immersed, so
that by this three-fold confession you might be loosed of your many
attachments to your past life" (St. Ambrose, "De Sacramentis", II, 7).

Today Baptism is normally administered by pouring water over the head--
a method also used in apostolic times and which gradually came into
general use because it was found more convenient.

5. Just as the ingraft and the plant form a single thing and make a
single principle of life, Christians by being grafted onto or
incorporated into Christ through Baptism form one single thing with Him
and begin to draw on His divine life. We are also "united with Him in
a death like His": Christ suffered physical death; we, in Baptism, die
spiritually to the life of sin. St. John Chrysostom explains this as
follows: "Baptism is for us what the Cross and burial were for Christ;
but with this difference: the Savior died physically, He was physically
buried, whereas we ought to die spiritually. That is why the Apostle
does not say we are 'united with Him with His death', but 'in a death
LIKE HIS'" ("Hom. on Rom.", 10).

9-10. Jesus Christ chose to bear all the consequences of sin, even
though He was sinless. His voluntary death on the Cross and His
glorious Resurrection broke the bonds of death, for Himself and for all
His own. Death no longer shall have dominion: "[Christ died] that
through death He might destroy him who has the power of death, that is,
the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject
to lifelong bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15). And as a consequence He won,
for His own human nature and for us, a new life.

In all those who have been baptized these same events in Christ's life
are in some way reproduced. "Our past sins have been wiped out by the
action of grace. Now, so as to stay dead to sin after Baptism,
personal effort is called for, although God's grace continues to be with
us, providing us with great help" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Rom.", 11).
This personal effort might be encapsulated in a resolution: "May we
never die through sin; may our spiritual resurrection be eternal"
([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", 1st Glorious Mystery).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

From: Mark 16:1-7

The Resurrection

[1] And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother
of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint
him. [2] And very early on the first day of the week they went to the
tomb when the sun had risen. [3] And they were saying to one another.
"Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?"
[4] And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was
very large. [5] And entering the tomb, they saw a young man on tile
right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. [6] And he
said to them. "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was
crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid
him. [7] But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before
you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you."

Commentary:

1. The sabbath rest was laid down in the Law of Moses as a day when the
Israelites should devote themselves to prayer and the worship of God,
and also as a form of protection for workers. As time went by the
rabbis specified in minuscule detail what could and could not be done
on the sabbath. This was why the holy women were unable to organize
things on the sabbath for anointing the dead body of our Lord, and why
they had to wait until the first day of the week.

From the earliest days of the Church, this first day is called the
"dies Domini", the Lord's Day, because, St Jerome comments, "after the
sorrow of the sabbath, a joyful day breaks out, the day of greatest
joy, lit up by the greatest light of all, for this day saw the triumph
of the risen Christ" ("Comm. in Marcum, in loc."). This is why the
Church has designated Sunday as the day specially consecrated to the
Lord, a day of rest on which we are commanded to attend Holy Mass.

3-4. On the structure of Jewish tombs and the stone covering the
entrance, cf. note on Mt 27:60.

[The note on Mt 27:60 states:

60. It was customary for well-to-do Jews to build tombs for themselves
in their own property. Most of these tombs were excavated out of rock,
in the form of a cavern; they would have had a small hall or vestibule
leading to the tomb proper. At the end of the hall, which would only
have been a few meters long, a very low doorway gave access to the
burial chamber. The first entrance door, which was at ground level,
was closed off by a huge stone, which could be rolled (it was called a
"gobel"), fitted into a groove to make rolling easier.]

5. Like so many other passages of the Gospel this one shows the extreme
sobriety with which the evangelists report historical facts. From the
parallel passage of St Matthew (28:5) we know that this person was an
angel. But both Mark and Luke are content to report what the women say,
without any further interpretation.

6. These women's sensitive love urges them, as soon as the Law permits,
to go to anoint the dead body of Jesus, without giving a thought to the
difficulties involved. Our Lord rewarded them in kind: they were the
first to hear news of his resurrection. The Church has always invoked
the Blessed Virgin "pro devota femineo sexu", to intercede for devout
womanhood. And it is indeed true that in the terrible moments of the
passion and death of Jesus women proved stronger than men: "Woman is
stronger than man, and more faithful, in the hour of suffering: Mary of
Magdala and Mary of Cleophas and Salome!

"With a group of valiant women like these, closely united to our Lady
of Sorrows, what work for souls could be done in the world!" ([St] J.
Escriva, "The Way", 982).

"Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified": the same name as written on the
inscription on the cross is used by the angel to proclaim the glorious
victory of the resurrection. In this way St Mark bears witness
explicitly to the crucified man and the resurrected man being one and
the same. Jesus' body, which was treated so cruelly, now has immortal
life.

"He has risen": the glorious resurrection of Jesus is the central
mystery of our faith. "If Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Cor 15:14). It is
also the basis of our hope: "if Christ has not been raised, your faith
is futile and you are still in your sins.... If for this life only we
have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied" (1 Cor 15:17
and 19). The Resurrection means that Jesus has overcome death, sin,
pain and the power of the devil.

The Redemption which our Lord carried out through his death and
resurrection is applied to the believer by means of the sacraments,
especially by Baptism and the Eucharist: "We were buried with him by
baptism and death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4). "He
who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day" (Jn 6:54). The resurrection of Christ is
also the rule of our new life: "If you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right
hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things
that are on earth" (Col 3:1-2). Rising with Christ through grace means
that "just as Jesus Christ through his resurrection began a new
immortal and heavenly life, so we must begin a new life according to
the Spirit, once and for all renouncing sin and everything that leads
us to sin, loving only God and everything that leads to God" ("St Pius
X Catechism", 77).

7. The designation of the Apostle Peter by name is a way of focusing
attention on the head of the Apostolic College, just at this time when
the Apostles are so discouraged. It is also a delicate way of
indicating that Peter's denials have been forgiven, and of confirming
his primacy among the Apostles.