My First Experience with A Catholic Easter Vigil
In years past Easter was full of commotion and upbeat celebration. This came from the feeling that the whole season’s celebration was to be held on Easter Sunday. In my Protestant experience the other days of the Triduum (Th., Fr., Sat. of Holy Week) were acknowledged but secondary to the all-important Easter Sunday. This year I experienced Holy Week in its fullness and the difference was stark.and
Mon. – Wed. of Holy Week was quiet and mostly normal days. Although there was still the buildup to the Passion that was strongly felt. On Thursday we celebrated the Last Supper. I then spent the last hour of the night with Jesus in the form of the Host, just as the disciples stayed with Him during His time in the garden. When the Host was removed at midnight, I felt life leave the church.
Good Friday was the day of Christ’s “prosecution” and death. The solemn procession that evening was moving and truly agonizing. The realization of God’s death, as I highlighted in another post, was poignant and deeply moving. I looked forward to the revelation of the resurrection.
The unique experience for me was the celebration of the resurrection being focused in the Saturday night Easter vigil. We started the vigil in the dark, lit by candles started on a new fire. We spent solemn time contemplating Christ’s death and time in the grave. At the appointed time in the vigil, the lights came on and we started the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. I felt life returning to the world and church, but not in a rambunctious way.
As Christ came quietly back into the world, so did we celebrate His return to the world. Nowhere in the scriptures does the record show jubilation and celebration. The resurrection was not celebrated in the scriptures like His birth was. Christ resurrection was silent, not even His followers knew anything about it until the next morning. I felt this peace and quiet assurance that He is risen and the world is back to the way its supposed to be.
If Good Friday is all about God’s death and the lack of the Creator in the creation; then Saturday night vigil is all about the quiet, triumphant return of the Creator to His creation. We can go about life with the sure knowledge that our God lives. Our redeemer lives. Because He lives, we can live. Life is good and we are able to triumph because Christ lives!
Leave a Reply