On the Vigil

Each year I look forward to the great Vigil of Easter, the mother of all holy vigils (as St. Augustine famously put it). This year was no different, particularly because I would Baptize Sandy (pictured at left) at our mission parish, Annunciation (most often called St. Mary's), in Shumway, Illinois.

Holy Saturday itself is a quiet day for priests, but there is much to be done. Most of the work is mental and spiritual preparation and so a priest is busy about holy things (much more so than usual).

I went to the church early yesterday morning to begin setting a few things up in quiet, only to be met a few moments later by a few parishioners who had the same idea (that's part of why I love it out there; the people realize what needs to be done and simply do it).

It took a little more than an hour to put everything in order for the evening's celebrations, including the decorating of the altar, preparing the paschal candle, polishing a few items of brass, arranging various items at the font, etc. It seemed strange that it took so little time and I left wondering what I had forgotten (as it turned out, nothing, I'm happy to say).

When the servers arrived that evening they were rather lively and rambunctious, which isn't very common for servers at the mission parish. I took this to be a sign of Easter joy and I welcomed it.

This may be attributed in part because I told them that around the fire and around the font things might be a bit "chaotic" because there wasn't a great deal of room in which to work and you could never quite be sure where people would be. But, I said, this was part of the glorious festivity of the day.

All went well for the Vigil and I was struck by the simplicity of the rite of Baptism once we arrived at the font. What from all external appearances could not be simpler confers something that is both simple and great: eternal life.

A blessed Easter to each of you!