Easter Vigil Mass

Easter is the holiest day of the year for Catholics. We believe that what took place on that first Easter two millenniums ago changed all of creation for all of time. So we try and make it special. Catholics also mark days like our Jewish brethren as sundown to sundown, not midnight to midnight. So starting a bit before sundown on Holy Saturday, we start the vigil for the celebration of Easter.

We start outside of our darkened church. There we light a fire against the darkness. From that fire we light the new Easter candle that we will use for the next year.

From the Easter candle we light our individual candles and enter the church following the Easter candle and the priest. In this picture are some of the altar servers waiting to start the procession.

 Okay, one little flash picture just so you can see the Easter candle being carried by the deacon and father in the background in white and gold vestments.

The church is lit only by the candles as we read from the Old Testament and sing Psalms. Then as we begin the readings from the New Testament all of the lights are thrown on at once and we sing the Gloria.

Easter is a traditional time for new people to enter the Catholic Church. Here father, holding the Easter candle leads the new catechumens in a procession through the church where they eventually end up at the baptismal. Those that need to be, are baptized.

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