By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily during the Easter Vigil, celebrated April 19, 2025, at St. Mary Cathedral.
Tonight, we celebrate Jesus’ victory of sin, death, and the devil. Jesus has risen from the dead and has brought renewed hope for the entire world — although it is true that we, nevertheless, are still walking the path of the Cross.
The ongoing war of attrition in Ukraine and the violence of the Israeli-Hamas conflict continue to cause great anxiety, as do situations closer to home. I often remind people that here in South Florida we are surrounded by “islands” of pain: Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Almost everyone in South Florida has a personal connection with someone in one or more of these countries. We perceive the concern and uncertainty of so many of our brothers and sisters who today live in fear and anguish because of their immigration status. In the face of threats of “mass deportations,” this community so close to the immigrant experience cannot NOT feel the anxiety, the fear of the undocumented or irregular migrant.
Fearful and anxious certainly might describe those detained at ICE’s Krome Avenue Detention Center where I will celebrate Easter Mass tomorrow morning.
And despite all this, despite so many reasons for discouragement, today the Risen Lord invites us not to be afraid and to trust more strongly than ever in the power of love. When Mary Magdalene and the disciples found the empty tomb, their first reaction was fear and bewilderment. They could not understand what was happening or what their Master's fate had been.
But when Jesus would later appear before them, that sadness turned into joy, and their former fear was transformed into hope and strength for the mission.
Hoy celebramos la Resurrección del Señor - aunque es verdad que todavía estamos transitando el sendero de la Cruz. Se percibe la preocupación e incertidumbre de tantos de nuestros hermanos, que hoy viven con temor y angustia a causa de su situación migratoria.
Y a pesar de todo esto, de tantos motivos para el desánimo, hoy el Señor Resucitado nos invita a no tener miedo y a confiar con más fuerzas que nunca en el poder del amor. Hoy el Señor Resucitado nos invita a no quedarnos hundidos en la desesperación ni a dejarnos vencer por el miedo ni el desánimo. La Pascua significa que la vida vence a la muerte, la verdad vence al error y el amor vence al odio. Cristo ha resucitado, y con él ha resucitado nuestra esperanza.
“We are Easter people and ‘Alleluia’ is our song,” preached St. Augustine of Hippo in the uncertain times in which he lived. He added, “Let us sing here and now in this life, even though we are oppressed by various worries, so that we may sing it one day in the world to come, when we are set free from all anxiety.”
Yes, “Alleluia” is our song, but even with our eyes raised to heaven, we cannot remain indifferent to present challenges and sufferings. The sufferings of Christ do not exempt us from suffering ourselves; but his sufferings, seen in the light of his Resurrection, give meaning and hope to our own. And so, even suffering does not take away our joy in the future promise of our own Resurrection.
Jodi a nou fete Jezi ki leve byen vivan sot nan lanmò, malgre se vre nou menm nou toujou ap mache sou chemen kwa a. Nou wè boulvès k ap trakase tèt nan anpil frè ak sè nou yo, ki jodi a ap viv nan laperèz ak kè sere akòz sitiyasyon imigrasyon yo.
E malgre tout bagay sa yo, anpil rezon pou dekourajman, jodi a Granmèt la ki leve a envite nou pou nou pa pè e pou nou fè plis konfyans nan pouvwa renmen an.
Soufrans Kris yo pa vle di nou egzante pou nou pa soufri; men soufrans li yo, si nou konprann yo nan limyè Dimanch Pak la, fè n konprann sa n ap soufri jodi a gen vale devan Bondye epi nou pap soufri pou gremèsi. Leve Jezi leve a byen vivan se garanti se pa mal,se pa rayisans, se pa lanmò ki pral genyen dènyè pawòl nan zafè nou sou tè a, se Bondye k ap di denye pawòl la. Epi se sa ki bay soufrans pa nou y yo siyifikasyon ak espwa. Konsa menm nan mitan tchouboum lavi a nou pa pèdi espwa, epi kè nou kontan poutèt nou konnen n a gen pou nou leve byen vivan ak Kris la.
For Catholics, Easter is our return every year to our own baptism... our own “pass over” or “Pascha” into new life in Christ. But in the gift of Easter, lie the demands of Easter: “If you were raised with Christ seek what is above,” St. Paul tells us. Faith in Jesus’ passion, death and Resurrection gives us the inner strength to exercise our baptismal commitment to live, in different ways, lives of service and significance. May the light of the Resurrected Lord illuminate every corner of our world, our society, and our lives. May he help us build communities where unity, justice, and solidarity reign, where no one feels alone in their suffering, and the human dignity of everyone – even the most vulnerable - is respected and protected regardless of social, economic or legal status.
Yes, despite the sorrows and pain we experience in this “vale of tears,” Alleluia is our song.
