Easter symbols go from darkness to light

CNS photo/Tim Hunt, Northwest Indiana Catholic

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A boy prepares for baptism during the Easter Vigil at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Hammond, Ind., last year.

By Father Carl Schlichte, OP

Special to the Intermountain Catholic

The first and often overlooked symbol in the Easter Vigil is darkness. The Church and the world are shrouded in night, not only because the sun has set, but more significantly because the Son is in the heart of the earth. The light of the world seems to be absent. The palpable stillness that began on Good Friday has profoundly settled in. It is as if the entire universe is holding its breath. This is the atmosphere in which the Church gathers to begin its vigil, its night watch for the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise." (Mark 10:33-34)

All of us have felt that darkness at one time in our lives or another.

The Paschal, or Easter, candle is a primary focal point and symbol of Christ not only in the early part of the Vigil, but throughout the Easter season. It stands as the singular light in a world plunged into darkness by sin and death. All gathered light their tapers from the one Easter candle and soon the church flickers with light. It recalls Jesus telling the disciples, "You are the light of the world…your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5: 14, 16) It is the first clue that something wonderful is going to happen. We carry not our own dim light, but the resplendent light of Christ. "Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, / radiant in the brightness of your King! / Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! / Darkness vanishes for ever!" (from the Exultet or Easter Proclamation)

The baptismal font and, to an extent, those to be baptized are another powerful symbol. The font is the gateway to eternal life, where each Christian dies with Jesus to sin and rises triumphant with him. Its waters recall the waters of the Red Sea and Israel’s emancipation from slavery in Egypt. But the freedom that Christ offers in baptism is far greater: from the bonds of sin and death. The catechumens show that Jesus’ call to faith and communion with his mystical body, the Church, is stronger than our ability to sin and cause scandal. The newly baptized remind us all of the joy and excitement of receiving the priceless gift of salvation. Those of us who are cradle Catholics (like myself!) have a tendency to forget this excitement.

The Easter Vigil overflows with symbols; I have chosen to focus on only three. Like so many mysteries, words do not come even close to describing the reality. The vigil is something that every Catholic should experience at least once. It is a long liturgy, certainly, but if one is open to what is being witnessed to in word and gesture and fire and smoke and water and oil, not to mention bread and wine, God will undoubtedly reward the effort. You will know that you have been to church, but also come away with a renewed sense of the wonder of the person of Jesus and to what lengths God went to for our salvation.

Dominican Father Carl Schlichte is pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center.