Exult, let them exult. . . (Easter Vigil 2026)

I had the blessed opportunity to chant the Exsultet (Easter Proclamation) at the Easter Vigil again this year. It is the fourth straight year that I have had this blessing. In the first year, I prepared on my own by listening to a recording of the Exsultet on YouTube and sang along with the music sheet from the Roman Missal. In the second year, I practice before our Music Director-English, Ben Batalla, and opened myself up to his guidance. In the third year, taking Ben's advice, I started working with Liliana Herrera, our Music Director-Spanish, back on August of 2024.

This year, I decided to prepare on my own and have fun preparing for the Exsultet. How so? I still warmed up with the "5 Minute Vocal Warm Up" that Liliana introduced me to last year, I also practiced the breathing exercises that she taught me. Finally, I recorded myself and listen to the recordings as a self-evaluation. Now, what I added this year to make preparation for the Exsultet fun was, I did sing-alongs to "Golden" and "What It Sounds Like" from the "KPOP Demon Hunters" movie soundtrack. It was a lot of fun but it also helped me stretched my voices in different ways!

As we got closer to the Easter Vigil, since I was in trial for a week and then out of town for spring break for another week, I did not get a chance to practice at the ambo in the evening so I could test the lighting, etc. Additionally, after talking with our pastor, I ended up not putting my binder on a music stand in front of the ambo. I did not hold the binder in my hands like I did my first and second either. Instead, I put the binder on the ambo. Thankfully, since it was decided that all the lights in the church would be turned on after the third and final "Lumen Christi", I also did not need my booklight.

We got to the church three (3) hours before the Easter Vigil. During that time, I practice one last time at the ambo. In the middle of my practice, our pastor walked in but I did not stop chanting while he walked around making sure everything was in place for the liturgy.

As we walked out to the fire, I felt calm and at peace. As we processed into the church in darkness, I felt calm and at peace. As I waited by the pastor while everyone filed into the pews, I felt calm and at peace. I thought something was wrong because I was too relaxed. Then, as Fr. Red put incense into the thurible, I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. As I went up to Father to get my blessing, my heart started to race. As I incense the Exsultet music sheet and, then the Easter candle, the calm and peace returned and before I knew it, I started. . . "Exult, let me exult. . ." and the Holy Spirit took over until the "Amen" at the end.

. . .

Here is a link to my reflection from the Easter Vigil in 2025:

https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2025/05/exult-let-them-exult-easter-vigil-2025.html

Here is a link to my reflection from the Easter Vigil in 2024:

https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2024/04/exult-let-them-exult-easter-vigil-2024.html

Here is a link to my reflection on being Catholic for 15 years:

https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/03/reflecting-on-15-years-as-catholic.html

Here is a link to my reflection from the Easter Vigil in 2023:

https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/04/exult-let-them-exult-easter-vigil-2023.html

Homily for Monday in the Octave of Easter (Year A - 4/6/2026)

Good morning. Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the Gospel passage that we heard proclaimed at the Easter Vigil. “[There] was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.” Then the angel said to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary: “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’” What happens next? “[They] went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.”

These past 40 days of Lent, we journeyed with our Lord Jesus Christ through the desert. We prayed. We fasted. We gave alms. We did these things in earnest to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ Passion and death on the Cross and, of course, his glorious Resurrection. However, I believe that the encounter between an angel of the Lord and Mary Magdalene and the other Mary would suggest to us that our experience of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does not end after Easter Sunday nor does our Lenten observances of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving end with us greeting one another on Easter Sunday with “Happy Easter!” or with the ancient greeting, “Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! He is truly risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!” There is nothing wrong with exchanging pleasantries on Easter Sunday. However, if that is all that we do, then are we truly “living out the joy of the Resurrection” (Pope Leo XIV, homily, 4/5/2026).

So, how do we truly live out the joy of the Resurrection? We “go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” This was what the angel of the Lord told Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the dawn of “the first day of the week.” The angel said to them, “[Go] quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’”. The women were “fearful yet overjoyed” but, more importantly, they listened and did as the angel of the Lord commanded them “and ran to announce this to his disciples.” Like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, while there is no doubt that we are overjoyed by the Resurrection of the Lord, at the same time, we are fearful of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ to others, even those we are closest to.

Jesus knows our hearts and offers us these words of encouragement: “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” In other words, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us to “[go]. . . and make disciples of all nations” and promises to be with us always (Matthew 28:20). This is how we live out “the joy of the Resurrection,” not by keeping the Good News to ourselves but to share it with others so that they too may experience “the joy of the Resurrection.” And so, my sisters and brothers in Christ, let us boldly go forth and proclaim joyfully: “Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! He is truly risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!”

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040626.cfm