Last Friday, we celebrated the Good Friday Liturgy; hearing
the Passion Narrative, praying for our world in the Solemn Intercessions. We venerated the Cross and received Holy
Communion. In Faversham we marked Good
Friday with a walk of witness through the town to the market place for prayer
and reflection. Good Friday is a part of
the Sacred Triduum which we can easily relate to, it is the day of the
Crucifixion of Jesus. On the other hand,
today, Holy Saturday is more difficult; it has no structure, it is a day of
waiting, of quiet reflection; all things that many people have difficulty
with. It is the day that Christ is in the tomb and a
day that we too must spend in a spiritual tomb awaiting the celebration of the
resurrection of Jesus, marked for us by the celebration of the Easter Vigil
during this “night of grace” as the Exzultet says.
The night service or Easter Vigil as it is known although
the highpoint of the Sacred Triduum is not separate from the rest of the three
day celebration. Together the Sacred Triduum relates the Passion, Crucifixion,
Death and Resurrection of Our Lord. It begins with the lighting of a fire which
is blessed and from which the Paschal Candle is lit with a prayer explaining
the significance of the lettering, numbers and five incense grains that are
inscribed into the wax. This Candle will burn in the church during the whole of
Eastertide being lit for each service.
It is the light of Christ and is also lit for Baptisms and
Funerals. The readings for this night
service tell of the history of salvation according to the Old and New
Testaments. It has long been a tradition that adults who are to be baptised or
received into full communion with the church are received during this Mass
being blessed with the oil of Catechumens, Holy Water and Chrism. The final part of the service is the
celebration of the Eucharist.
The overall significance of the Easter Vigil underlines our
relationship with Christ climaxing in the taking part in the mystery of the
Body and Blood of our Lord. It also
emphasizes our bonds as community, brothers and sisters in Christ and united by
our common ties of Baptism and all the sacraments. As we sing out the Alleluia this night let us
remind ourselves of these bonds and pledge to live accordingly.
May I wish you all a very happy Easter!
May I wish you all a very happy Easter!
Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm
