This Night Above All

“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, at all times to acclaim you, O Lord, but on this night above all to laud you yet more gloriously, when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. For he is the true lamb who has taken away the sins of the world; by dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life.”

This is the beginning of the Preface prayed by the priest shortly before the consecration at the Easter Vigil. This Mass, specifically, more than any other Mass offered throughout the year, even the Easter Masses on Sunday, is the most important Mass of the year, and one of the oldest traditions of the Church. For at least the last 1,300 years, the Church in her Latin Tradition has prayed this same Preface with the same words annually at each Easter Vigil. On this holy night, the Church keeps watch, celebrating the resurrection of Christ in the sacraments and awaiting his return in glory. It is the turning point of the Triduum, the Passover of the new covenant, which marks Christ's passage from death to life. Therefore, the Easter Vigil does not correspond to the usual Saturday evening Mass, and its character is unique in the cycle of the liturgical year.

As the liturgy begins, the church is dark, and we gather around a brazier outside containing a blazing fire, symbolizing new life, the fire that guided Israel in their Exodus, and the dawn of the rising sun (Son) in the midst of darkness. The priest blesses the new year’s Paschal Candle, inscribing in it the Cross and the Alpha and Omega and the numerals of the year, signifying Christ through the victory of the cross reigns from beginning to end of the year. We then process into the dark church, illuminated solely from the lit Paschal Candle symbolizing Christ the Light in the darkness. The Exsultet, a beautiful poem of praise to God for his providence throughout the ages, aligns to this night. We then hear multiple readings of Sacred Scripture recounting God’s presence and guidance through the course salvation history from Genesis to the New Testament.

After this, we arrive at the Baptismal liturgy, where Fr. Robert will joyfully baptize 13 adults into the Christian faith, invoking the intercession of all the saints of God into their lives and journey of faith. After the baptisms, we will then welcome 32 people into the Catholic faith through the Sacrament of Confirmation, as Fr. Robert anoints them with the Sacred Chrism.

This liturgy, the most important of the year, we welcome so many new Catholics into the church, and commemorate our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection in a special way, full of rich symbolism and beautiful poetry. I encourage you to come to the Easter Vigil, though it may be long, it is very worth the time spent. Our Easter Vigil starts at 8pm in front of the church along Rural Road with the Easter Fire.