Easter Vigil
April 04, 2026
Saint Cecilia Catholic Community
Deacon Sharon Kay Talley
Genesis 1:1-2:2 | Exodus 14:1-5:1 | Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 118:1-2;16-17;22-23
Romans 6:3-11 | Matthew 28:1-10
+In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
Tonight we gather in darkness.
We began outside with a flame small enough to hold in our hands. And yet, from that one fire, the light spread—candle to candle—until the entire church was filled with light. This is how God works! Not always with a spectacle, but with His quiet, unstoppable power that pushes back the night.
From our Gospel, we hear that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to the tomb. They are not going there expecting a miracle. They are going there with grief, with heaviness, and with a feeling that hope has ended.
But then, everything changes. There is an earthquake! The stone is rolled away, the guards tremble. And the angel speaks words that echo through all of history: “Do not be afraid, He is not here. He has been raised.”
This statement is the heart of this night! Not just that Jesus was raised—but that He is risen! Alive! Present! Victorious!
Notice something important here: the first word spoken is not “triumph”…it is “Do not be afraid.” The resurrection is not just good news…it is overwhelming news!
It means death does not have the final word. It means sin does not have the final word. It means despair, failure, suffering—none of which has the final word!
This realization can be hard to take in as we all know the weight of those things. We carry them and we live them!
Christian faith is not wishful thinking. It is rooted in this moment: a real tomb; a real death; a real absence, because Jesus is no longer there in the tomb.
Then the angel tells the women, “Go quickly and tell His disciples.”
The resurrection was never meant to be kept a secret because it changes the world.
Then comes one of the most beautiful moments in all of Scripture: the women run off to tell the disciples and Jesus meet them and He tells them, “Do not be afraid.”
Tonight, we who are gathered together become those women.
Tonight is not the end of the story; it is the beginning.
Christ is risen.
So do not be afraid.
Jesus is already going into our homes and tending to our struggles, waiting to meet us.
He is risen!
Alleluia!