Lumen Christi (The Light of Christ)

During my time in seminary with the SOLT community in Rome, we would alternate where we would celebrate the Easter Vigil. One year we would attend the Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica with Pope Saint John Paul II presiding. The next year, in order to have some firsthand experience of organizing, preparing and serving the Easter Vigil, we would celebrate in our humble basement chapel which was within a huge complex belonging to the Christian Brothers of St. John the Baptist de La Salle, from whom we used to rent out a block of rooms. While of course, the papal celebrations were unforgettable in their grandeur, solemnity and beauty, sometimes, the subtle symbolic significance of very profound liturgical gestures would become more apparent while celebrating the Easter Vigil in our basement chapel. There are two such moments that I would like to share with you here. 

At the beginning of the Easter Vigil, which takes place after nightfall, the liturgy starts outside with the lighting of the paschal candle which represents the light of Christ. Once the paschal candle is lit, the congregation follows the light into the church. In the case of our Easter Vigil celebration, the journey from the fire pit to the chapel meant navigating through a series of turns down narrow corridors in the pitch dark. In fact, it was so dark that the moment the paschal candle turned the corner ahead of you, you were very quickly uncomfortable, groping for the walls and trying to make the turn as fast as possible to return to the presence of the light. Once you made the turn, you quickly surged forward to try and stay as close to the light as possible. 

It was in those moments that I was greatly struck by the significance and beauty of the image of Christ the light. Only in the light of Christ is it possible for us to see where we are going in life; only in the light of Christ can we circumvent the dangers and challenges of life; and only in the light of Christ is it possible for us to understand the meaning and purpose of our life. Conversely, without His light, we are left fumbling in the dark, grasping for walls, and lost in a sea of uncertainty and doubt. 

Of course, the greatest darkness that each of us faces in life is the inevitable encounter with death. It is a veil that will only be lifted at the moment it occurs – the ultimate blind corner whose mystery will be fully revealed only when each of us individually makes that turn. And yet, the celebration of Easter reminds us, that just as the paschal candle precedes us into the dark church, Jesus Christ Himself had already gone before us and traversed the perils and finality of death. He has gone before us in His resurrection, and in the certainty of faith. We have the hope and assurance that awaits beyond the corner of the darkness of death, Jesus in the fullness of His glory. 

The second memorable moment of that Easter Vigil pertained to the sharing of the light of Christ and was once again highlighted by the nature of our pitch-dark chapel. In the liturgy, as the deacon enters the church with the paschal candle, three times he sings out, “Christ our light.” After the second proclamation somewhere in the center of the church, he turns, and from the one paschal candle, the light is shared with those around him, and they, in turn, share the same light with others until the whole church is beautifully lit. In our little chapel, the transformation from darkness to light was impressive and impactful. 

The striking feature of the light is that when it is shared from one candle to the other, the original flame is not diminished in any way. If I have a full cup of water and share half of it with you, I am only left with a half cup for myself. This is not the case with fire, in fact, as the light is shared, collectively it grows and gets stronger and begins to light up the entire space! When we walk in the light of Christ, we also become lights to others radiating Christ to them. As the light grows and is shared, the presence of Christ in this world becomes more and more apparent.

Each of us in this world encounters a variety of challenges as we traverse through life, and while we have various coping mechanisms we employ to try and overcome these obstacles, we are all ultimately confronted with the reality that death is the one insurmountable obstacle that none of us can conquer on our own. Every Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we are reminded that He is the only answer to the deepest desire of our heart – that we and the ones we love would enjoy eternal happiness. Jesus is the only one who conquered death, He is the only one who can show us the path from death to life. For this reason, He is the Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, the Life, and the Light. As we proceed forward in the blessed season of Easter, let us ask for the grace that we would always walk in the light of Christ; that we would be keen and earnest in sharing the light of Christ with others; that our hearts would be filled with gratitude; and that on account of the light of Christ, we are able to understand the meaning of our lives and can see the path that leads to life everlasting! 

Father Peter Marsalek is General Priest Servant with the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity.