🎧 [Listen to Homily: Audio]
📺 [Watch Mass: YouTube Video]
Welcome to
Our Lady of Lourdes, to this most holy night—the Easter Vigil.
The word vigil means to watch – as
you know .. to stay awake at night because we are afraid—like the image from
the Song of Songs, the warrior with his sword at his side because of fears in
the night. But more often, we stay awake in anticipation. Think of Christmas
Eve… the night before a wedding… the night before something beautiful is about
to happen.
Tonight, the
Church asks us to stay awake—not out of fear, but out of hope.
The early
Church Fathers said that we keep vigil so that we may be alert for God. As
Athanasius writes, “We
watch not as mourners, but as those who wait for the Lord.”
And tonight,
we are waiting.
But we are
not waiting passively. We are watching for something very specific.
We are
watching to receive God…
to be received by Him… and to receive one another.
1. Vigilance: Being Received
Many years
ago, before I entered the seminary, I had a job that required a lot of travel.
I would go from city to city, usually staying in hotels, often eating alone.
One trip
brought me to Atlanta, where I had family—my aunt and uncle and my cousins. I
called them to let them know I would be in town. I didn’t know what to expect.
They didn’t
ask many questions. They simply said:
“Dinner’s at six. We’ll see you.”
That was it.
And I
remember how much that meant—to be welcomed.
There’s a
line from a poem by Robert Frost that defines this:
“Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in.”
That is what
it means to be received.
And that is
what God does for us tonight.
In baptism,
in the Eucharist, in His mercy—God receives us. Not because we have earned it.
Not because we are perfect. But because we belong to Him.
We hear that
same invitation in the Gospel story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. As
evening approaches, they say to the stranger walking with them,
“Stay with us for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
And He went
in to stay with them.
Tonight, God
says the same to us—and we say the same to Him:
Stay with us, Lord.
And in a
special way tonight, we pray for Parker and Jessica, who are about to be
received fully into the Church. This night is not just symbolic. It is
personal. God is receiving you. And we, as a parish, receive you as well.
2. Vigilance: Acting in Faith
But
vigilance is not only about being received. It is also about how we respond.
John Henry
Newman says that faith gives us a kind of spiritual sight—it allows us to
recognize God and understand what we are called to do.
But then he
asks an important question: how do we know that our faith is real?
And he
answers with the words of the First Letter of John:
“Hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”
In other
words, faith is not just something we feel. It is something we live.
That’s why
St. Joseph is such a powerful example. Joseph didn’t always understand what God
was doing. He didn’t have the full picture. But when God showed him what to do,
he acted. He obeyed. His faith was visible in his actions.
And the same
is true for us.
The full
picture may take time to become clear.
A few weeks
ago, before the St. Patrick’s Day Mass here at the parish, there was a lot
going on—music, preparations, visitors, everything coming together at once. And
just before Mass, I noticed an unmarked cardboard box sitting outside on the
church steps.
No label.
I picked it
up and brought it inside. A few people offered to help—very kindly—and I
declined, which in retrospect may not have been the best decision.
But the real
problem was this: I didn’t know what to do with the box until I opened it.
When we
finally opened it, we discovered it contained programs for the Mass and
parade—and suddenly we knew what to do.
Seeing
brought clarity.
But in the
life of faith, it often works the other way around. We act first—and
understanding comes later.
And I also
remember that two people who offered to help me that day are here
tonight—Jessica and Parker. And they weren’t just offering to help me—they were
already living that spirit of service among you.
This is
vigilance.
3. Vigilance: Following the Light
Years after
that first trip to Atlanta, I returned—this time for my uncle’s funeral. I flew
in, rented a car, and started driving to where my family was staying in a
remote area.
At first,
everything was fine. But then my GPS stopped working. No signal. Dark roads. No
streetlights. I had no idea where I was going.
I called my
brother, who was already there. He stayed on the phone with me, guiding me turn
by turn.
And finally,
when I was close—but still lost—he said:
“Don’t worry. I’m coming out to the road with a flashlight. Just look for the
light.”
And that’s
what I did.
In the end,
I couldn’t figure it out on my own. I had to follow the light that was given to
me.
And that is
what Jesus does for us.
He is not
simply like a light.
He is the Light.
And tonight,
in this Easter Vigil, we see that light in a very real way—in the Paschal
candle, in the waters of baptism, in the grace of the sacraments.
Even if your
baptism was many years ago, that light is still in you. Christ continues to
guide you, to illuminate your path, to call you forward.
Conclusion: A Vigilant Life
So tonight,
we are invited to live a life of vigilance.
To receive
God—making space for Him in prayer, in the sacraments, in our daily lives.
To trust that we are received by Him—even in our weakness, even in our
failures.
And to receive one another—with patience, with generosity, with love.
This is the
way Jesus lived.
He was vigilant
in love—loving the Father with all His heart, mind, and strength… and loving
us, His neighbors, to the very end.
And now He
calls us to do the same.
“Stay with
us for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So as we
continue this Easter Vigil, and as we renew our baptismal promises, let us ask:
Am I awake
to God in my life—or am I going my own way?
Because if
we stay vigilant…
if we stay awake in faith…
then we will not walk in darkness.
We will walk
in His light.
Tonight we
keep vigil.
We stay awake.
And we follow the Light.
And that light will lead us home.
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