By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: The Wanderer on page 1A of its April 23, 2020 issue featured an article by Fr. Richard Breton on his experience of administering the Anointing of the Sick and bestowing the Apostolic Pardon on a dying 94-year-old woman with COVID-19.
(Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He is currently the parochial vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Colchester and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lebanon. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.
(This is the second of his weekly columns for The Wanderer.)
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In our last article, we reflected on creation and how God uses the gifts of creation to assist us on our journey of faith. Light was created to break up the darkness and to illuminate the way on the path of salvation. The creation of man gives us the opportunity to journey with this light.
Throughout salvation history, we encounter various figures who remind us of these gifts. Some of the most prominent moments of this occur in the Old Testament. In the Book of Exodus, for example, we encounter a simple Hebrew man whom God chose to free His people from the darkness of slavery. This man is Moses. One day as Moses is tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, he sees a most peculiar thing. As he gazes on Mt. Horeb, the holy mountain, the Lord appears to him in the form of a flaming bush.
Moses notices that even though the bush is on fire, it is not burnt. Curiosity leads him to go over and investigate. As Moses approaches the flaming bush, the Lord calls him by name and Moses responds by saying, “Here I am.” The Lord and Moses converse and discuss the suffering God sees and the destructive horrible treatment of the Israelite people. The Lord reveals Himself as I AM, and uses Moses as the instrument to free the Israelites from the darkness of slavery and the clutches of Pharaoh’s hand.
Imagine the fear, concern, and doubt Moses must have felt as he met the God of his ancestors. God asks Moses to go and free the people from the slavery of the Egyptians.
Moses succeeds and is able to free the Israelite people from the hand of Pharaoh. They journey 45 days to Mt. Sinai where again the Lord uses the gift of light, the burning bush, to manifest Himself to Moses and the people. The day arrives and Moses begins the journey up Mt. Sinai to encounter the Lord and receive the Ten Commandments, the new law of the covenant. After receiving the two tablets, Moses returns to the people, but he is not aware of the radiant light upon his face.
This light is a reflection of the Light of the Lord and signifies the unity between God and Man.
As Moses and the Israelite people continue their journey, the Lord instructs them to build the “Ark of the Covenant.” Within this Ark they are to place the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments.
The Lord instructs them to build the Ark to a certain size and using specific materials. In chapter 25:31 the Lord again reveals to Moses and the Israelite people the importance light will have on their journey. He instructs them to build a lampstand made of pure gold. It should consist of a hammered base, a shaft and six branches extending from it with three on each side.
Attached to these branches were lamps shaped like almond flowers and placed before these branches were seven lamps lite before. This lampstand was used outside of the Tabernacle to remind the people of the Holy Place within where the Ark of the Covenant resided. Oil of pressed olives was used to ensure the light would be kept burning always before the Tabernacle of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Easter Vigil
From the time of Moses, the Israelite captivity and exodus to the Promised Land, to today we encounter these images of light. Every year during Holy Week, we celebrate the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil recalls for us the journey from darkness into light and the Israelite people’s journey from slavery to new life. We begin the Vigil of Easter in total darkness, recalling the darkness that existed before the dawn of creation.
Then the Sacred Ministers process to the outside of the church where the Vigil begins. There is a spark and soon we see a roaring fire with flames of red glowing in the midst of the darkness. This fire resembles the moment when God reveals Himself to Moses in the form of the burning bush. As the fire illuminates the night, we encounter Him, the I AM, of salvation history. The new fire is blessed with these words:
“O God, who through your Son bestowed upon the faithful the fire of your glory, sanctify + this new fire, we pray, and grant that, by these paschal celebrations, we may be so inflamed with heavenly desires” (Roman Missal, Easter Vigil).
Then the Easter Candle is lit and carried throughout the church while three times the chant Lumen Christi is sung, and the response Deo Gratias is proclaimed. Light of Christ and Thanks Be to God! With these actions we recall in a visible way the exodus from darkness to light and slavery to new life.
Then the Exsultet or Easter Proclamation is sung, celebrating Christ’s triumph over death. This is followed by the Liturgy of the Word where we hear the story of salvation unfold before us. From creation in Genesis, to the journey of the Israelites in Exodus, through the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Baruch concluding with the epistles, we are reminded of our history as a Chosen People.
In the journey of the Israelite people, there was the light always lit before the Ark of the Covenant. This light was there to lead the way. This light is also recalled during the Easter Vigil. After the Liturgy of the Word we transition into the Liturgy of Baptism. During this part of the celebration, we bless water and the Baptismal Font, but we also renew our baptismal promises.
In this renewal of our Baptismal Promises we hold lit candles in our hands before us as we make this renewal. The lit candle is a reminder of the light that led the people of Israel out of the slavery to the Promised Land. We are reminded that this light is within us and leads us on our journey of faith.
The Person Of Christ
Every year when we celebrate the Easter Vigil, I am always touched by the symbolism at work within the liturgy. It is especially meaningful if there are catechumens taking part in the celebration. These young men and woman present themselves, like Israelites on a journey, toward the Promised Land.
When I have the opportunity to celebrate with the catechumens, I feel like a joyful father waiting to meet his new children. From receiving Baptism, to Confirmation, and finally to the Holy Eucharist, these people are yearning to be part of Christ. They indeed become part of Christ because through these great sacraments they are forever grafted to the very Person of Christ. They do become our children and the emotions I feel as I welcome them into the Lord’s family is life-changing because they become my children too, and I their spiritual Father.
Like the people of Israel and the catechumens, we too are on a journey where the Lord reveals Himself to us little by little. He may choose to use someone in our lives to be an instrument of the Divine like Moses. He may reveal Himself to us as, I AM, in a burning bush or in the blazing glory of the New Easter fire.
He may choose to use the simple yet awe-inspiring beauty of the Easter Vigil’s Liturgy of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist to open our eyes to see His majesty.
However, the Lord decides to reveal Himself to us, and He does so using symbols to remind us that we are but sojourners seeking the Promised Land, “a land filled with milk and honey!” We were created for one purpose: to know, to love and to serve the Lord in all we do, in this life and in the life to come.
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