The Easter Vigil

A meditation The Easter Vigil begins with darkness. The darkness itself is the first movement of the liturgy, so we begin our preparations with that darkness. It represents all darkness, and all the meanings of darkness - devoid of light; evil thoughts, motivations, deeds; all that is hidden and secret, deceitful and dishonest, divisive and abusive, immoral and sinful. It's the darkness of our world, and the darkness in my heart. If I come to the vigil and restlessly and impatiently fidget in the dark “until something happens,” I miss the power of what is about to happen. So, we prepare by readying ourselves to experience the darkness. It is distasteful and reprehensible, embarrassing and humbling, fearful and despairing. Then a light is struck. It breaks into the darkness. The Easter candle lit from the new fire is then processed, we receive its light and experience the power of that light as it grows. The candle is enthroned beside the lectern and we make the Easter Proclamation. This prayer sounds like the Eucharistic Prayer. We give thanks and praise over this symbol and “consecrate” it as Christ's presence among us. There are nine readings and eight psalms or songs that have been prepared to help us with our night's vigil (we won’t be sharing all of them). A wonderful way to prepare for the Vigil would be to read the readings and psalms expressing gratitude to God for an extraordinary story of fidelity and love for us. After the last reading from the Old Testament, the candles are lit, the bells ring and we sing r Glory to God, ready to hear the New Testament word in the light of the good news, “He has been raised!” Let our hearts be exultant with joy at the resurrection of Jesus - the victory of our God over sin and death - for us!