Discussion Questions for the Readings for the Solemnity of the Easter Vigil (readings can be found at www.usccb.org/readings)

• The Easter Vigil stands at the head of the Church’s calendar. It is the pinnacle of the Liturgical Year. Christ is risen from the dead having conquered death by death and to those in the tombs he gave eternal life! Have you considered the glory that God has in store for those whom he loves? Have you considered the glory that God has in store for you?

• For about 40 hours, the Church lives with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God in sorrow keeping watch with her in anticipation of her Son’s rising, but the Church does not wait long and gives us the joy of the Easter Vigil which both anticipates and celebrates early the Resurrection and Instrument of our salvation, Jesus Christ. The readings take us through the key events of Salvation History and God’s covenants to his chosen ones, to us, culminating in the stunning events of the Tomb in the early dawn of that Sunday. What would I have done? What would be my reaction had I been in the place of the women?

• The readings connect the creation of the universe as God’s mysterious action with its re-creation at the tomb of Christ. There is an earthquake. An angel descends and rolls away the stone. The tomb’s guards are paralyzed with fear. He announces the news of the Resurrection to the approaching women, the first to hear the Good News, a reward for their courage and steadfastness in sticking by Christ under the cross. Divine events are sure to enter in our lives. Will be awake and of the right attitude to perceive them? Will we respond in faith, courage, and hope? Will we run to tell the Good News to others?

• In the epistle to Romans, St. Paul tells us that our baptism is a baptism into Christ’s death. If we were baptized in an age other than infancy or young childhood, then our “old self”, meaning our old sinful habits and selfish ways of living, were crucified with Christ in that baptism. If we were an infant or young child, then the separation from God that we inherited from Original Sin is washed away, and we are made a new creation in Christ. Our baptism makes us dead to sin, but with time we may have completely lost those graces having forgotten God, forgotten his commandments, forgotten his love for us, and the saving work of his Son that we might fulfill the destiny God has created us for. When was the last time I was in confession? Has it been years? Too many to count? Perhaps I have gone frequently and am only in need of a spiritual rinse? God does not desire us to dwell in sin. He waits in confessional, the tribunal of Divine Mercy, in the person of the priest to forgive your sins, cleanse you anew. Go to confession this Easter period. You will feel like a new person because you will be.

• Read to your child the story of the tomb of Christ in Matthew’s Gospel for the Easter Vigil. Ask your child(ren) what they would do if they were the guard, or one of the women, or one of the disciples to whom the women told the story. Ask them whether they think they would believe it. After the sorrowful death of Jesus, if they heard that Jesus might rise from the dead on Sunday, ask them how they might respond. Would they run to the tomb? Would they run away? What if an angel suddenly appeared in front of them just as they got there and told them Jesus was not there, for he has been raised? Ask them if they know what the word “anticipation” means. Explain it to them in terms of waiting for something they have looked forward to for a long time, like Christmas or their birthday.

• Get them excited about their Easter baskets or your family’s tradition. Explain to them that this celebration is like the anticipation of the Apostles and the women who waited for Jesus to rise from the dead and why we do this tradition. Explain to your child(ren) the symbolic meaning of the Easter basket. The basket itself is the sepulcher wherein Christ was lain, about to be opened. That Easter eggs, too, represent Christ in the hidden tomb (the egg itself). The interior of the egg, white and gold, represent Christ. The goodness of the egg, that is, the food itself, a symbol of Christ as food for us, especially in the Holy Eucharist. The idea of the Easter bunny represents new life and a symbol of the new heavens and the new earth in the Book of Revelation as does the season of Spring itself. The candies we eat are symbolic of the sweetness of Christ and the joy of his Resurrection.
   

Let’s pray:
 
Dear Lord Jesus, by your cross and resurrection you brought joy to the whole world. We thank you for rising from the dead and opening the gates of Heaven for us so that we could be with you one day. Help us to love each other here on earth so that we can have life with you who loves us all. In this hope let us pray in the words you taught us…
 
Our Father…
 
And let us ask Mary to protect us:
 
Hail Mary…
 
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