Easter Vigil year ’A’

"After the Sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdalen and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightening, his face as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they were like dead men." We are at the heart of the luminous ’paschal vigil’ with hope and in joy in our hearts. We live this extraordinary instant when the tomb Jesus was laid in opens and this apparition of an angel to two women. Day is breaking and the garde where Jesus was laid ina tomb, is in semi-obscurity. The earth begins to tremble and an angel dressed in white as snow, luminous as a flash of lightening, comes down from Heaven. After the suffering of his Passion, after his death accepted out of obedience to the Father, and out of Love for mankind, Jesus is Risen. The load of sin oppressed humanity ever since Adam first disobeyed, but now Jesus, the New Adam, in an act of unconditional obedience to God the Father, comes to make the passage from the blindness of sin to the hope of Salvation. Through Jesus’ Resurrection we enter into recreation, joining Jesus in his invincible Love, as it was announced : ’He is truly Risen.’ The experience of God’s Infinite Love is given to us with great strength, we can henceforth enter into Life. On this night of Easter Jesus wishes to transform us : this is the liberation of all that is not love in our lives! "The angel spoke, saying to the women : ’There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples,  ’He has risen from the dead and now he is going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you will see him’.  Look! I have told you." At the announcement of Jesus’ resurrection, the women run trembling towards the disciples to joyfully announce this news to them. They don’t tremble out of fear but from emotion engendered by joy. After having been buried in the earth the Risen Lord Jesus join the bosom of Mary once again and leads her in the dance of Love that will never end! He is risen in the one who first of all conceived him in faith mysteriously, leading him into the joy of the Resurrection. The ’sealed garden’ of the Song of Songs is a secret of love, the Beloved is in a state of prayer. The mystery of Jesus’ resurrection is first and foremost from within, in the secret of the mystical Body of the Church which is her Body. Henceforth Heaven is open to everyone! The Only Son of God who took flesh of the Virgin Mary is given in a mysterious way to the Church. Mary’s Joy is, for us, her great faith, her invincible hope and her immense love on the path of Jesus’ Resurrection are given to us! It is in the strength of the Holy Spirit that we welcome the Good News of the Resurrection. "Filled with great awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. And suddenly, coming to meet them was Jesus. ’greetings’ he said.  And the women came up to him and, clasping his feet, they did him homage. Then Jesus said to them ’Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me." After having received the good news from the angel of the Lord the two women feel straight away he ned to go and share this with others, and are full of joy. So they start running , in this way they take on the role of Christ’s apostles. And so it is Jesus in person who comes to their encounter, he tells them ’Hail, ’ Simple words that go straight to the heart. This instant of encounter of Jesus with these two women cannot be matched for its greatness. The two women don’t utter a word but throw themselves at Jesus’ feet, they are the very example of complete faith in God. Day after day we remain at Jess’ feet in an act of complete faith. He comes to draw us out of our poisoned wounds, touched by the flame of Infinite Love, these wounds become wounds of Love. Jesus looks at us with immense Love, with such great respect. He knows the deep feelings in our hear, in our Galilee, in our country, in our weakness, in our misery and in our good will, He is going to renew everything by his Immense Love.