During our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd sessions, our St. Benedict Classical Academy Early Learning students thoroughly enjoy the beauty of a lit candle. They never tire of gleefully proclaiming, “Christ is the light of the world!” multiple times throughout the cycle. They love watching its flickering flame, touching the beeswax, snuffing the fire, and watching the smoke ascend with their prayers to Heaven, during time at the prayer table or hearing proclamations from the Holy Bible.
Starting with the first lesson of preparing our prayer table in September and ending with our last celebration of Pentecost in June, the theme of light is woven throughout many of their lessons, especially throughout this season of Lent and Easter. The recurring message we have been pondering is that Jesus, the Light of the World, died on the cross but was raised on the third day. His risen light is stronger than death and can never be extinguished. He shares his risen light with all of us. Now that we have reached the culmination of the liturgical year, the Paschal Mystery, we arrive at one of my favorite occasions with our children, the Liturgy of Light Celebration, a beautiful and moving, condensed Easter Vigil.
We begin this celebration with the proclamation, “Today we join with the whole Church to celebrate Easter, the greatest feast of all—the rising of Christ from the dead,” followed by the blessing of the Paschal Candle, as the children reverently repeat each line of the candle tracing. A small taper candle is lit and placed in a candle holder, and we say our familiar words, “Christ is the light of the world.” We turn to the Paschal Candle and say, “The Paschal Candle reminds us of the risen Jesus. Let us prepare it.”
Just as the priest does at the Easter Vigil, the catechist inscribes the candle by tracing and saying the powerful words in the way described in the Roman Missal, “Christ yesterday and today; the Beginning and the End; the Alpha; and the Omega; all times belong to Him; and all the ages; to Him be glory and power; through every age and forever. Amen.” We then insert the ‘nails’ of incense at the top, bottom, arms of the cross, and one in the center, and say, “By his holy and glorious wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us, and protect us. Amen.”
The children then form a solemn procession, The Paschal Candle is lit from the smaller flame, and the leader proclaims, in familiar words, “Christ has died, but He is risen!” Then we all exclaim, “Alleluia!” The Catechist prays out loud, “Loving God, accept this Easter Candle. May it always dispel the darkness of the night. Alleluia!”
We then begin our procession. The leader solemnly pauses three times to lift up the Paschal Candle, while chanting, “The light of Christ.” The children joyfully respond, “Thanks be to God.” Entering the darkened Atrium, the Paschal Candle is placed into the holder, all are seated, and the catechist chants the powerful, ancient words of the Exsultet, “Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, Exult. Let angel ministers of God exult; let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph! Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal king, Let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness. Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice. Arrayed with the lightning of his glory, let the holy building shake with joy, filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.”
Then we hear scripture that allows us to continue meditating on the light such as Isaiah 60:19, “No longer will you need the sun or moon to give you light, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and He will be your glory”, and 1 John 1:5, “This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all” and, if the children are still engaged, Ephesians 5:8-10, “For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.” We then joyfully sing the Celtic Alleluia and continue with Mark 16:1-8 account of The Resurrection. Alleluia is sung once again, and we pray, “Jesus died and is risen. He is the light, and He desires to share His life and light with us. Come now and receive His light.”
The catechist then calls each child one by one, by name, to receive a lit candle (e.g., “Jimmy, receive the Light of Christ.”). After each child has received a lit candle, everyone sits in moving silence, enjoying the light in the dark Atrium. After some wonderings and songs, we conclude our celebration with ‘The Gathering of the Light’ by inviting the children to place their candles by the Paschal Candle (e.g., “Gianna, let’s put your candle next to the Paschal candle together.”). We enjoy the gathered light as one big group, admiring the light in silence with awe and wonder. The catechist invites the children to ponder, “Who do you think is part of this light?”
We end our beautiful celebration as we began, with a prayer of gratitude, saying, “Such beautiful light! The Light of Christ is in each of us. Remember, His light is still strong. He lives, and His light lives in us!”
AUTHOR: Adrienne Noriega, Early Learning Lead Teacher
