S&F-Silence and Joy

 

Today is a strange day in the church year.  For the day we reflect on a day without Jesus.  He was placed in the tomb.  His Apostles, probably afraid they would suffer a similar fate, were in hiding.  This is a pivotal date in the beginning of the Church.

We spend the day reflecting on Jesus's descent into Hell to reclaim the souls of those suffering there, including those guilty of original sin Adam and Eve.  This is both a sad and happy day where we have lost Jesus but are finally able to be together with Jesus in heaven.

The pinnacle of the day is the Easter Vigil Mass.  It begins in the darkness, lit only by candles.  We listen to a series of readings chronicling the salvation story.  The lights finally are lit as we proclaim the presence of Jesus and celebrate his resurrection.

One of the things that Mass features is the initiation of new people in our faith.  They are welcomed by receiving baptism, receipt of the Holy Spirit and Holy Communion.  Honestly, I used to have issues in this process.  It always seemed like bundling the Sacraments all together doesn't give the proper attention to each of the Sacraments.  It seemed like, to me, it would be better to separate receiving the Sacraments separately would be better in featuring each of them and their importance.

That changed last year.  I was sitting in my normal seat in the church and saw a young woman who was going through the initiation rites.  The smile on her face was one of pure joy.  She was almost glowing in her glee knowing that she was about to be unified with Christ.

Seeing her changed my opinion on bundling the initiation rites.  If someone is ready to be part of Christ's family, why make them wait to experience that joy that I saw in that young woman?