Christ our light!
As you approach the church for the Vigil Mass announcing Christ’s resurrection, you will see preparations for a new fire. The fire is usually lit with a flint, as it was in former times. Ideally, the new fire is a large bonfire lit in the parking lot or other outdoor gathering place.
It should be outside of the church on a dark night, because this bonfire celebrates, cries out: “Light! Out of the darkness of the tomb came Light! See! Come here, all you who were mourning. Come, all you who did not believe in God. Come, all you who never were told about God. Come and warm your hands at the fire!”
The Light of Christ! This fire is the symbol of light, of warmth, the symbol of the heart of Christ and the love of Christ. People gather around the fire, which the priest blesses. And from this fire is lit the Easter candle. The incredible love of God for us is often expressed in symbols.
To express that Christ is “the beginning and the end,” the Paschal candle is inscribed with the letter Alpha (A), the beginning of the Greek alphabet, and Omega (Ω), the last letter, with a cross in between. The four corners of the cross are marked with the numerals of the current year.
Look at this blessed candle carefully because it is an important symbol. It will meet you at your baptism; it will escort you at your funeral when you are put into the earth to resurrect to a greater light—that of Jesus Christ.
After the Vigil Mass of Christ’s Resurrection, it will burn at the altar until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is sent to us.
Deep down in our hearts, we walk in darkness these days. People come from the cities and tell us how frightening it is to walk the streets at night. There are lights, plenty of lights, yet it is dark. In so many places people walk in fear for their lives, even in illuminated thoroughfares.
A friend of ours in Washington D.C. was walking from her job at four o’clock in the afternoon when she was assaulted by a mugger who took her purse. That was at four o’clock in the afternoon, but it was dark.
Have you lit the Christ candle in your heart? With it, you walk in light. The answer to our darkness of today is faith. Faith is that candle of Christ which we allow to burn in our hearts so as to walk by its light.
But we are human—small, frightened. We must pray, we must pray constantly to the Lord to give us faith. That is one gift the Lord never refuses. Keep that Easter candle trimmed in your heart. Let us all keep it lit, so that no matter how dark the environment, we will have faith; we will have light.
After the lighting of the Paschal candle, the priest and people walk in procession from the outdoor fire into the church, which is still in darkness. The priest or deacon holds the candle high. He sings, “Christ our light!” and we all answer, “Thanks be to God!”
All the people now light their candles from the Christ candle, and the procession moves on into the dark church, filling it with candle light. A second and third time, the priest or deacon chants, “Christ our Light!” as the people fill the church, and when all are in place, the Paschal candle is placed on its stand and incensed.
This is one of the moments I cherish so much, one of the most moving ceremonies of our liturgical year.
In my Russian culture, during the whole Paschal season people kissed this candle, representing Christ.
Christ comes to us in various ways. He is in icons. He is present in Scripture. He is uniquely present in the Holy Eucharist. He is in you and me. All this we acknowledge as we kiss the Paschal candle.
Yes, Easter is the apex of feasts, the feast of all feasts—Christ is risen! How can I express the immensity of this feast? It is eternal — it picks you up and drops you into eternity.
On this day of Christ’s resurrection, we resurrect; so we can grow in love of one another. Love dwells with us. We are to love one another as Christ has commanded: Love one another as I have loved you (Jn 13:34). We ordinary human beings are lifted up in some fantastic, incredible, incomprehensible, mysterious way in this feast so that we may fulfill his command.
God loves me. He loves me when I am good and when I am not so good, because he loves sinners. He forgives them too. His mercy is infinite and so is his love, his goodness, his forgiveness. My hand nestles quite easily in the immense hand of God, and I shiver with delight.
Christ is risen! Let us love one another as Christ loved us. Then we are clothed in the shining garments of one who is baptized, one whose garments shine from far away and even through the night. Then we become a light to our neighbor’s feet.
Excerpted from Season of Mercy, 2020, available from Madonna House Publications.
[Photo: Easter Vigil 2023 by ©Beth Scott, Madonna House.]
