Hello and Happy Easter! Although it was celebrated remotely, Christ promises to be present wherever at least two or three are gathered in His name, not only in gatherings of 10+ people! I’ve heard it said in many homilies that Christians are an “Easter people.” We live in the truth and knowledge of Christ’s Resurrection. Hooray, the tomb is empty! Hooray, death is not the end!
That joy certainly gives me hope this spring, along with the lengthening days and increasing sunshine, but sometimes that truth feels harder to see in a time of pandemic. I turn on the news and find questions about adequate supplies of PPE for healthcare workers. I also hear the chilling death counts, which remind me that Jesus died—and, before he died, he suffered a lot. How absurd is the life we live! The truth of the resurrection is rarely clear and tangible. This brings me to my main question. As an Easter people, how are we to live when life often seems so far from the joy and glory of Easter Sunday? Perhaps an adjustment might help, and for this, we might need to rewind a little from Easter Sunday.
The Easter Vigil is by far my favorite liturgy of the year. I love the arc of the readings traversing the Christian story from God calling the world into existence in the Old Testament, to Paul cultivating the new community of believers in the New Testament. More than anything, I love how the moments of actual light and darkness embody Matthew 4:16, “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” As my family and I were enjoying Cardinal Sean’s televised Vigil Mass a few weeks ago, with the lights off for true immersion, it dawned on me (pun intended) that perhaps the Easter Vigil is a more immediately realistic description for the Christian life.
Like our human lives, the Easter Vigil is an intermediary time before we know Christ in His full glory while we still know that we will meet Him soon (and very soon). That is the promise in the flame of the Easter candle. At my home parish’s Easter Vigil Mass, as the Easter candle is processed into the sanctuary, its light would be passed on from candle to candle until every member of the congregation bears it. Every member of the church holding the Easter fire reminds me of the essence of the Christian call. In the Easter Vigil of life, we have the distinct privilege of bearing the light and hope of the Easter candle’s fire to the world.
Outside the sanctuary, in the pitch-black of night, it is so challenging to navigate the darkness of the world, let alone find a metaphorical candle lit with a lasting fire. In this way, the mission of the Easter people rings clear: to be standard-bearers for Christ, candle-holders equipped for the darkness of the world by reminding people of the light and hope ahead. If this is our call, then the true urgency of Jesus’ invitation to “stay here and keep watch,” (Mat 26:38) dawns on us, because if we do not keep vigil with our fire, who will?
Photo courtesy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales via Flickr
Noella D’Souza is a senior studying Chemistry with a minor in Medical Humanities. She’s is deeply devoted to BC Full Swing, Hillside Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, puns, and the Oxford Comma, in that order.
- An Easter Vigil People - May 7, 2020
- Empty Vessels - April 1, 2020
- Catholic Obligations - February 26, 2020