The Easter Vigil – Passing from Death to Life

The liturgy of the Easter Vigil unfolds layer after layer of our life as Christians. We begin in darkness, we read the story of salvation history, then we follow "Christ, our Light!" up the centre aisle. The beautiful Exsultet, the Easter Proclamation, is sung "to the candle," for this is the Christ candle, the Paschal Candle, the Light of Christ.

Into all this music and light come the catechumens, now "the elect," to be baptized. They have been preparing a long time for this. We watch, we listen, we pray for and with them – and then we get our turn. For at the Easter Vigil we are asked to renew our baptismal vows.

Most of us were baptized as infants, our parents and godparents speaking for us. Now we have the opportunity of publicly professing our faith, our choice to follow the Light of Christ.

Very simply, we believe that "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." But that simple statement has all sorts of repercussions. When we receive the Lord in the Eucharist, we receive the risen Lord. As St. Paul says, "The life I now live is not my life, but the life which Christ lives in me." - Galatians 2:20 What a challenge and what a joy!

We have the same call as these newly baptized. We have all passed from death to life; we have all become citizens of the Kingdom of God; we are all called to live in the light.

By Mary Buckley CSJ