Awakenings

by Father Thomas Keating

Celebrations of Jesus' Presence

Chapter 28

The Paschal Vigil

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
(Responsorial Psalm of the Easter vigil)

    When you hear the triple Alleluia that introduces the Easter season in a burst of joy, what do you hear? What happens inside of you when you hear those thrilling acclamations?

    Do you only hear the sound Alleluia and think, how beautiful? Or do you say to yourself, "That poor man who is trying to sing! Why doesn't he get some instruction?" You might be right, but if that is your only reaction, you may miss the special grace of the occasion.

    Perhaps your thoughts revolve around the meaning of the word Alleluia, recalling that it means something like hurrah--a cry of victory--and you reflect, "This is Easter! I must rejoice!" Perhaps some of you perceive a spontaneous joy at the thought of Christ's triumph over death; a peaceful sense of gratitude to God for his goodness; or a sense of how much he loves you, or how much you love him.

    You may even experience something like a volcano exploding inside you--a tremendous burst of joyful energy coming from the deepest place inside of you, which causes you to forget all your own thoughts, the fatigue of the evening of the Paschal Vigil, and what happens afterward.

    If you have such an experience, you are well prepared to celebrate the Paschal mystery You touch the reality about which all the symbols of this night's liturgy are stammering. You penetrate the mystery of the resurrection of Christ. You identify with Christ when you forget yourself and are filled with his joy.

    Did Jesus experience something similar when the Holy Spirit reached into the tomb, laid hold of his mortal body, lifted it up, and divinized it? Did he think, "I am rising from the dead" or "I am alive"? Or was it just the experience of life--beyond words, thoughts, or feelings? Sheer experience! Sheer joy! Sheer life!

    Anyone who responds to the sound of the Alleluia with the sheer experience of oneness with Christ has understood the resurrection. Those who have not yet experienced this union should have no doubt, no hesitation, that God is calling them to this experience. He is calling us, especially through this liturgical celebration of his resurrection, to become what baptism has already made us. Baptism has been done to us. We did nothing to bring it about--even if we were baptized as adults. It is the sheer gift of God. Eternal life has begun in us. We are the sons of God, incorporated into Christ's body His Spirit dwells in us. All our sins are forgiven. The darkness of our ignorance and the weakness of our will are being healed. And if anything is lacking to us, Christ, who is interceding for us in heaven at the right hand of the Father, will give us that too.

    We were responding to this intuition if, at the moment we heard the Alleluia, we identified with Christ. He is ours by baptism. It only remains for us to become what we are and to enjoy what we possess.

The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence. . . .
(Easter Proclamation [Exultet])

    The liturgy of the Easter Vigil awakens us to the realization of Christ risen in our hearts by means of a marvelous array of images, words, and symbols. The magnificent hymn in honor of the Paschal candle, known as the Exultet, explains what is happening within us by means of these symbolic rites. This sacred vigil is itself the principal symbol, as it brings to mind the whole of salvation history, especially the passage of the people of Israel through the Red Sea, which we read about in the second lesson. The liturgy of this night is trying to prepare us for baptism or for the renewal of baptism and, in order to understand what that grace means, calls upon the whole of sacred history The saving power of God is vigorously at work in baptism just as it was in the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, and just as it is in our passage tonight from darkness into light.

    There are two principal moments in these sacred rites that we must grasp in order to enter deeply into the renewal of our baptismal vows. First of all, a quick flashback to what happens earlier on this evening. In the blessing of the new fire we pray, "O God, bless this new fire to dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds. Lead us by this light as you led Moses and his people through the Red Sea. Kindle in us the fire of your glory."

    The new fire is the symbol of the power of the Holy Spirit leaping up from the ground on which Christ's blood was poured out. A flame is taken from the fire to light the Paschal candle and we pray again: "May the light of the Risen Christ dispel the darkness of our minds and hearts!" In the joining of flame to candlewick, we celebrate the moment in which Christ's spirit reentered his body and he rose in glory from the dead. Thus, the Paschal candle is clearly identified as the risen Christ in our midst. This symbol communicates what we celebrate on this night--the mystery that takes place inwardly beyond symbols and to which all the symbols and words are designed to lead us.

    Recall what happens next. Having identified Christ as the pillar of fire that led the Israelites on their journey, we too pass through the Red Sea, symbolized by the procession through the long corridor in total darkness. That procession is for each of us a new salvific event. Just as the Egyptians, symbol of the tyranny of sin, were utterly destroyed when they tried to pursue the fleeing Israelites into the Red Sea, so our sin and guilt are destroyed once again and more profoundly than ever.

    There are many dark nights. The way to distinguish the darkness of sin from the divine darkness is faith in the risen Christ. As we enter the church and other candles are lighted from the flame of the Paschal candle, the light begins to spread and illumine the darkness not by becoming brighter, but by communicating its own light. As each of us receives the flame, the light spreads until this whole building and everyone in it are illuminated. The lighted candle we hold in our hands is the symbol of what happens to us interiorly Christ rises in our hearts--and we perceive it! It is not a question of emotion, but conviction! Christ destroys our sinfulness and brings us, through the procession in the darkened corridor, to a new level of innocence and to a new level of participation in his divine light. The Exultet proclaims, with magnificent confidence in the glorified Christ, that this is the night on which spiritual power has been given us from the risen Christ. The lighted candle we hold in our hands is the symbol of our power to live the risen life of Christ. These events take place on the level of faith, hope, and love-- none of which is immediately perceptible to our senses, imagination, or emotions. But they are real, just as real as the people of Israel passing through the Red Sea; and just as real as Christ rising from the dead. It is the same saving action of God that took place in the Old Testament, was fulfilled in the New, and is now ours in this celebration of the Paschal mystery.

    The sacred rites are not something we bypass in order to reach the mystery; they are something we pass through to reach faith in the living Christ. Thus, the Exultet sings with good reason, "O holy night, O blessed night, O night that has dispelled the darkness of sin!" The liturgical darkness of this sacred night is the divine darkness that communicates to us, beyond reason and senses, the divine life that will be completely ours in eternity. The power of Christ's resurrection, symbolized by the Paschal candle and by our participation in its flame, is communicated to us inwardly, and we become the beneficiaries of his power to dispel evil, to wash away guilt, and to restore innocence. Innocence, in the scriptural sense, is intimacy with God the Father. The return to sonship is the first fruit of Christ's resurrection. As we open ourselves to the divine light, which as it grows brighter reveals the divine life within us, the mystery of divine life becomes the central theme of this Paschal season.

This chapter is taken from the book Awakenings by Fr. Thomas Keating. You can obtain a copy from the Bookstore.  See Awakenings