Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob baptizes a new Catholic at the Easter Vigil on April 19 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee. (Photos by Greta Taxis)
What does the Easter Vigil — commonly regarded by Catholics the world over as the holiest night of the year — have in common with a Walmart Superstore?
“I realize this may not be what you’re expecting to hear at the Easter Vigil as the most proper analogy,” said Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob, who asked this question of the faithful gathered for the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. “But at the risk of going out on a limb here, just work with me for a moment.”
Well, the answer was simple, really: The Easter Vigil, like a Walmart Superstore, is a one-stop shop — not for garden or groceries, but for grace.
“Tonight’s multifaceted festival has everything that we need — everything — in order to proclaim loudly and clearly that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead,” said the archbishop, who was presiding at his first Easter Vigil since being installed as the 12th Archbishop of Milwaukee in January. “Everything we need happens here tonight in one event.”
It is understandable, then, that the Easter Vigil is also “a marathon,” in the archbishop’s description, a liturgy which ran more than two-and-a-half hours.
The liturgy began in darkness as the archbishop blessed the fire that would light the paschal candle. This paschal candle will illuminate many significant moments over the next year, the archbishop said.
“By its light, this parish community, this cathedral community, will welcome those who are reborn in the saving waters of Baptism,” he said. “By its light, we will also commend to God the souls of our departed sisters and brothers who go before us in death to the eternal dwelling place of the Father. May this candle remind us that in every moment of our lives … in every cross we struggle to take up, Christ is with us.”
The archbishop further asked the faithful to remember the unconditional love and welcome of “the God who gives us this Easter night.”
“May this candle remind us that Christ is the first light of a new creation,” he said. “May this powerful symbol of Easter hope never allow us to lose sight of our own glorious day of resurrection. May it not cease to remind us that we no longer need to be in darkness. All our hopes have been confirmed. A new day has dawned. It’s Easter.”
