With fire and water, a dramatic Easter Vigil on March 30 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., commemorated the light and new life that the risen Christ brings to the world.
The light of Christ was symbolized by the Easter fire blazing outside the cathedral as the vigil started. Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the main celebrant at the Easter Vigil, blessed the fire, from which the Paschal Candle was lit. The cardinal prayed, “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.”
Then people inside the darkened cathedral held small candles that were lit one-by-one from that initial flame, symbolizing their call to bring the light of Christ to others. In Spanish and English, the words “Luz de Cristo, the Light of Christ,” were chanted, and people sang in response, “Thanks be to God.”
The new life from the risen Christ was seen later in the Mass, when the cardinal baptized 14 men, women and children with water as they knelt in a baptismal pool near the main altar. While the people about to be baptized stood in front of the altar with their godparents, members of the cathedral’s Schola Cantorum led the singing of the Litany of Saints, and after that, the cardinal prayed, “Bring these chosen ones to new birth through the grace of Baptism.”
That new life in Christ was also seen when those 14 newly baptized people, along with seven people preparing to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church, and with two Catholics completing their sacraments of initiation, were confirmed by the cardinal, and later when all of them stood together around the altar and received the Eucharist for the first time.
At the beginning of the three-hour Easter Vigil after the Paschal Candle was lit from the Easter fire and as people held the small lit candles, a cantor sang the soaring Easter Proclamation, the Exsultet, which was followed by six Scripture readings in Spanish and English which traced the salvation story, beginning with the creation account in Genesis and concluding with the account in the Gospel of Mark where three women discover the empty tomb of the risen Christ.
For the second reading, two members of the Schola Cantorum sang the dramatic Exodus account of the Israelites escaping as the Red Sea parted and then engulfed the pursuing Egyptian charioteers, showing how God brings true freedom to His people. The third reading from Isaiah 55 highlighted the importance of prayer in the passage, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near,” and the next reading from Ezekiel 36 highlighted God’s promise that “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you… you will be my people, and I will be your God.”
Then a joyful Gloria was sung, accompanied by an organ fanfare and the ringing of bells, as the cathedral lights were turned on again to full brightness. The epistle reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, chapter 6, included the phrase, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.”
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory reflected on that evening’s gospel reading, and how the women coming to Christ’s tomb first worried about how they would roll the stone away from the tomb’s entrance. He noted how different kinds of stones today block the empty tomb in people’s minds and distract them from believing that Christ has risen.
“Even for those of us with faith, there are moments when we are just like those women at the tomb, and we basically must ask the very same question: Who will roll back the stone of disbelief for us?” the cardinal asked.
Cardinal Gregory said stones that might stand in the way of people believing in the empty tomb could include things like people basing their happiness on acquiring money, or being distracted by family issues, “or perhaps the increasing rationalization of the use of violence as a solution to all our problems, or that there are irreconcilable differences that separate nations, genders, races, cultures, religions and communities.”
The cardinal then asked, “What seems like more nonsense: the fact that God has raised His Son to life, or the folly of our human ways that leads us to greater and greater distances from one another and from God?”
Noting that while some people might consider Scripture accounts like the story of the risen Christ to be nonsense, Cardinal Gregory countered that “nonsense is the blind ambition that drives too many of us. Nonsense is the suspicion that we cling to rather than the openness for which the human heart was fashioned. Nonsense is our national divisions and cultural and racial polarization that become too often the hallmarks of our era.”
Washington’s archbishop emphasized that the Easter Vigil “is not about the stones that block us from faith, but about reality. The women who first witnessed the risen Christ came to the apostles and spoke the most profound truth that they had ever heard… Tonight stands as the moment of truth in the midst of a world living with stones that impede faith that on this evening are removed so that we can see that the tomb is really empty.”
Praising the people about to receive the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the vigil, Cardinal Gregory said, “Our newest Catholic brothers and sisters are a great sign of God’s truth in our midst. We welcome you, beloved sisters and brothers in Christ. You remind us all of the truth of our faith, and you bring great joy to our hearts.”
Concluding his homily, the cardinal said he hoped that the Easter season will bring great happiness and peace to people and their loved ones.
“May the real truth that we speak about and witness on this night illumine all our days and our hearts with His light!” Cardinal Gregory said, adding, “For you see, there are no stones that cannot be moved, and the tomb is still empty.”
After the homily, the cardinal blessed the baptismal waters, and the elect about to be baptized made a renunciation of sin and profession of faith. As he baptized each of them, the cardinal said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son. and of the Holy Spirit.” Then the people in the congregation, again holding lit candles, renewed their own baptismal promises, and they were sprinkled with baptismal water.
The newly baptized returned to the front of the sanctuary, wearing white garments and holding candles lit by their godparents. The cardinal prayed, “You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as children of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts.”
As he administered the sacrament of Confirmation, Cardinal Gregory said, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” while he made the sign of the cross on each person’s forehead, anointing them with chrism and announcing their Confirmation name from their chosen patron saint.
After being confirmed, they stood together in front of the sanctuary smiling, and the congregation applauded them.
The Easter Vigil concluded with the joyful recessional hymn, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”
In an interview before the Easter Vigil, L.J. Milone, the director of faith formation at the cathedral, said, “I hope these people becoming Catholic inspire other Catholics to deepen their own relationship with God in Jesus through the Spirit.”
Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the rector of St. Matthew’s Cathedral who was also interviewed before the vigil, noted how many of the people becoming Catholic that evening are young adults who found a vibrant faith community there.
“They are filled with hope – in spite of wars, violence, people leaving the Church and scandals. They have been experiencing a parish family of hope. Our hope is in the Lord Jesus. We know He is truly accompanying us on our journey,” Msgr. Jameson said.
He added that for those new Catholics, the Easter Vigil “is a highlight of months of learning, experiencing and truly living the life of Jesus. Welcome to them all, and now together we will live the life of the Resurrection.”
At Easter Vigils in churches throughout The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, about 1,350 people entered into full communion with the Catholic Church.
On Easter Sunday March 31, Cardinal Gregory will celebrate a livestreamed Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral at 9 a.m. (https://youtube.com/live/fIEvDmNpfaM?feature=share)
Later on Easter Sunday, Cardinal Gregory will celebrate a noon Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that will be televised on the Eternal Word Television Network and livestreamed on the basilica’s YouTube channel that can be linked through the National Shrine’s website at www.nationalshrine.org.
