The risen Savior shines upon you!
(From the Exsultet)
To all the newest guests at Christ's table, welcome! Welcome Home!
Tonight adults in the RCIA programs all over the world were welcomed into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil Masses--some baptized, some confirmed, some received both of these Sacraments, but all received Communion as full members of the Roman Catholic Church. I can't imagine what a huge leap that is for some people, some of the roads that they've had to travel to get where they are tonight. For others it was as natural as breathing. No matter; they're all here, and all warmly embraced.
Congratulations! And WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME! God bless you!
~~
As you might figure, I went to Easter Vigil tonight with TJ and my Dad at New Parish. Easter Vigil is lovely, one of the most beautiful liturgies in the Church. It was a lovely Mass, entered into a dim church, and the beautiful lighting of the fire and Easter candle--and the chanting of the Exsultet.
There were a LOT of catechumens there tonight to be confirmed, about 30 adults. It swells my heart knowing there are people seeking His Truth, and finding beauty and peace within the Holy Mother Church.
~~
It was a full house, too. That also made me happy. And I joyfully reaffirmed my baptismal promises tonight:
Do you reject Satan? I do.
And all his works? I do.
And all his empty promises? I do.
Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? I do.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? I do.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? I do.
~~
It wasn't so long ago that TJ and I were in the Basilica on another lovely evening, but not as spectators, but as participants. TJ got the whole gamut: Baptism, Confirmation, First Communion. I had only the Confirmation part, as I am a cradle Catholic and did have my First Communion back in the Dark Ages. If you've been in the Basilica, then you know how lovely Mass can be there, amongst the stained glass, statuary and the architecture that instinctively made one's eyes move upwards to heaven. Add to it a glorious chorale under that vaulted ceiling, and that sacred moment can make hearts of stone into mush. Even dyed-in-the-wool anti-Catholics marvel over the beauty of the church.
And I get teary-eyed thinking of the enormity of that evening four years ago, and how it's changed my life. Faith is amazing. What a gift!
~~
I was hoping that it wouldn't be the "contemporary" Mass, but it was. I was resigned and focused on the Mass (or trying when the drummer wasn't going nuts), TJ was into it, but my dad was absolutely tuned out. Vatican II pretty much ended his spiritual journey... I can try but I can't make him change. Tonight was to get him out of the house, see something other than the four walls. I think I'll take him to the Tridentine Mass at St Thomas the Apostle when I don't have something on the schedule.
One thing I've noticed this week is that while Dad says he's "out of the fog and into a funk," I invariably see him wistfully gazing at the picture of Mom holding her then-newborn grandson back in 1997. I took that picture, and was delighted when it came out the way it did, capturing Mom at her very best, at her most peaceful. I had told Dad that when I gave #1 brother a copy of that very picture, he had immediately exclaimed, "That's her, that's so Mom." It was also one of the pics chosen for the collage we did. I think I'm going to get an appropriate frame for that instead of what it's in now.
He told me on Friday that he's been thinking about the last forty-nine years... they had been married forty-nine years and almost exactly nine months when she died. Their fiftieth anniversary would have been at the end of June. He ruminated and we talked and I was aware of his sadness as he spoke. The shock is beginning to wear off, I think.
In my own fledgling marriage, forty-nine years seems like forever, unimaginable and something to aspire to. If I lost TJ after four years of marriage I might shrivel up and die... but forty-nine years? How would I handle losing the person I've spent the majority of my lifetime with? My God!
I worry about him, I don't know what to say or do except to be there for him.
~~
May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
(Exsultet, last stanza)
Have a happy and blessed Easter!
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