What Is An Easter Vigil?
What is an Easter Vigil?
As I write this we are about half way through Lent, so it feels a little strange reflecting on Easter. At the same time, life requires us to look forward and plan for what's next. As such, my thoughts are drawn towards Holy Week and the Great Vigil of Easter.
The Book of Common Prayer offers many liturgies for special days - all intended to enhance a person's experience of a season. Holy Week itself has the most liturgies, and The Easter Vigil Mass completes this great celebration. There is always a stark contrast from what comes before it. Beginning on Maundy Thursday, the altar is stripped, and the Church is left bare. This continues through Good Friday and Holy Saturday, when we remember our Lord's passion, and descent to the grave. During the in-between time, however, many Church's altar guilds are hard at work setting everything up. Flowers come back into the Church, the vestments and altar hangings are returned, and everything is poised for that great moment.
The people start by gathering outside of the Church. A small fire is lit, symbolizing the fact that Christ is alive. Of course we all know the end of the story, but we restrain ourselves, allowing the story to play itself out through liturgy. The Paschal Candle is then lit from the new fire, and either a deacon or the priest leads the procession into the darkened Church, chanting three times, "The light of Christ." In many places the people are each given a small candle, lit from the Paschal Candle or their neighbor's. This symbolizes the light of Christ being passed from person to person. Pseudo-Dionesius pointed out that as each candle is lit from another, the total light in the room increases. In the same way as faith is passed from person to person, the total light in the world expands.
The people are seated in the darkened Church as they hear several lessons on salvation history. One sacred story after another is read, all from the Old Testament, laying out all the ways God has saved God's people in ages past. Some Churches read many lessons, some only a few, but it is always more than what you would hear on a Sunday. This practice hightens the drama and increases the anticipation of the resurrected Christ bursting into the world. This section concludes by baptizing any candidates present, or if they are none, by renewing our baptismal vows.
Finally the moment has come. The lights all come on at once as the priest proclaims, "Alleluia, Christ is risen!" At the same time the people respond, "The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!" Immediately the joyful sounds of the Gloria fill the air as the organ and congregation create the splendid music we've been refraining from in Lent. The focus then shifts to new readings. Romans 6 outlines how through Baptism we are united to Christ in His death and resurrection. We then move to the resurrection narrative, celebrating the wonder and astonishment the first Christians experienced when Christ appeared to them, not dead, but alive.
No celebration would be complete without the Holy Eucharist - the holy food and drink for holy people. As we partake of the bread and wine we are reminded that the resurrected Christ visits us in a very special way. He gives Himself to us again and again as food and drink to nourish our souls.
Personally, by the end of the Vigil I always feel exhausted from the prior liturgies, and yet energized by the power of what the community has just celebrated. In this one service we see light overcoming darkness, righteousness overcoming sin, and life overcoming death. The power of this liturgy is that we can experience these concepts in very tangible ways, from the opening fire to the closing Alleluia. The work of the Easter Vigil Mass makes these great mysteries appear very close to us.
Like what you read? Feel free to join us for our 2022 Easter Vigil Mass. St. Francis will celebrate the Easter Vigil on April 16 at 7:00 PM.