There are blessings in this moment of waiting if we patiently allow the Divine Physician to do His work. Perhaps we might pause and look back on all that God has done for us, has done through the multitude of liturgical readings for the Easter Vigil. God is the Author of Life who made the heavens and the earth and formed us in His own image. He promises abundance to Abraham, who was once hopeless and destitute. He led the Israelites out of Pharaoh’s grip and into the land of milk and honey, just like He delivers us from the obsession of our addictions and compulsions. He sends prophetic voices to lead us on the right path and remind us of His faithfulness. 

Recovery provides regular opportunities to reflect on and share what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now. There may be no better day than today to lean into self-reflection and recall God being present through the highs and lows of our own salvation. Saint Paul affirms the glory of Easter and the fruit of our collective darkness and unknown emptiness when surrendered to God.

“We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (Romans 6:6-8).

Reflection Questions

• What were some moments in your life when darkness and emptiness were transformed into new life?
• How has God been present through the temptations and triumphs of your experience with addiction and the process of recovery? How has He been present through these last few weeks of Lent?

Sunday Vigil Mass Readings

First Reading: Genesis 1:1—2:2 or Genesis 1:1, 26-31a
Second Reading: Genesis 22:1-18 or Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Third Reading: Exodus 14:15—15:1
Fourth Reading: Isaiah 54:5-14
Fifth Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11
Sixth Reading: Baruch 3:9-15, 32–4:4
Seventh Reading: Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Gospel: Mark 16:1-7

Reflection by Scott W.