The resurrection of Jesus brings hope that we are called to live in and share, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula said during the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday, April 19.

In his homily at the Manila Cathedral, Cardinal Advincula shared that in this Jubilee Year of Hope, the Easter Vigil reveals three truths that give it meaning: hope that defies darkness, hope that is guarded by God, and hope that calls us to be witnesses.

“This Easter Vigil takes place in a very special year, the Jubilee Year of Hope — a time when the Church invites us to rediscover how the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of Christian hope,” Advincula said.

Hope defies darkness because the light of Christ always shines and does not fade.

“The light of Christ shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it,” the Manila Archbishop said, reminding the faithful that their sufferings or trials cannot extinguish the hope brought by the Risen Christ.

Advincula assured the faithful that God watches over them, and His resurrection “assures us that our lives are guarded by God’s loving hands.”

“When we feel afraid for the future, let us remember that our hope is not in human strength but in God — in God, who never slumbers, never abandons us, and never stops working for our salvation,” he said.

The women who came to the tomb in mourning became the first witnesses of the Resurrection, and like them, we are called to joyfully proclaim the Good News and bear witness to the hope of the Risen Christ even today.

“[It is] the hope that never disappoints. In [this] Jubilee Year of Hope, [t]he Church calls us to be bearers of hope to those who suffer, to those weighed down by sorrow, to those who have lost their way. [Because] the resurrection is not just a past event,” Advincula shared.

At the end of his homily, the Manila Archbishop affirmed that "Christ is truly risen" and urged the faithful to carry forward the Easter Vigil with the confidence that the hope we hold overcomes darkness, is protected by God's love, and is meant to be shared with the world.