THE MOST COMMON LITURGICAL ERRORS IN THE CELEBRATION OF THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT30/3/2024 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night is the "greatest and most noble of all solemnities" as the Roman Missal highlights in its preliminary notes to the Proper of the Vigil. As celebrated today, among other things, beginning in total outdoor darkness and blessing the paschal candle outside the church, is one of the main fruits of the liturgical reform. By proposal of the liturgical movement, this was adopted ad experimentum for three years in 1951 per decree of Pope Pius XII, and officially instituted in 1954 for its celebration by the universal church. This helped us to go back to the original and ancient practice when Easter was celebrated by early Christians during the night, crossing midnight, and ending before the sunrise on Sunday. As the preliminary notes in the Missal explain:
1. By most ancient tradition, this is the night of keeping vigil for the Lord (Ex 12:42), in which, following the Gospel admonition (Lk 12:35-37), the faithful, carrying lighted lamps in their hands, should be like those looking for the Lord when he returns, so that at his coming he may find them awake and have them sit at his table. One common error is to begin the celebration of the Easter Vigil when there is still light outside. The norms in the Missal prescribe it must be celebrated after all light is gone, precisely so that the celebration is illuminated by the light of the paschal candle, which symbolizes the crucified Jesus Christ who is now risen: 3. The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil must take place during the night, so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on the Sunday. But there is another liturgical error, made a lot more frequently than the first: leaving the church in the dark longer than it should, all through the Liturgy of the Word until the singing of the Gloria, turning the lights on at that moment. This "error" (which strictly, is a liturgical abuse, as it violates the liturgical norms) is, most of the times, not done out of disobedience, but due to different reasons: a. Not paying attention to the rubric in the Missal. b. Not understanding the liturgical theology of the rite of the Lucernarium -which explains the existence of the rubric. c. Becoming used to celebrating Mass the own way of the priest and not the way of the Church. The Liturgical Norm The Roman Missal prescribes the following in rubric 17 (capital letters are mine, to highlight the text in question): 17. Then the Deacon places the paschal candle on a large candle stand... AND LIGHTS ARE LIT THROUGHOUT THE CHURCH, except for the altar candles. It is only the altar candles that are not lit. They will be the ones to be lit at the Gloria, as rubric 31 indicates: 31. After the last reading from the Old Testament with its Responsorial Psalm and its prayer, the altar candles are lit, and the Priest intones the hymn Gloria in Excelsis Deo, which is taken up by all, while bells are rung. The Liturgical Theology The liturgical theology behind the moment to turn the lights on is the following: The rite of the Lucernarium expresses how the Risen Lord (whose symbol is the Paschal Candle) sheds his light gradually: 1. From the Paschal Candle at the fire pit (the first time the deacon sings "Lumen Christi"). 2. To the local church (the second time the deacon sings "Lumen Christi" at a higher tone and the faithful share the flame taken from the Paschal Candle). 3. Through the entire world, when the deacon places the paschal candle at the solemn candlestand next to the ambo, and sings "Lumen Christi" at an even higher note". Because at this third moment the Risen Lord is shedding his life upon the entire world, all lights in the church are turned on. Even the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) is sung with all the lights of the church on and all the faithful hold their lit candles. You just shouldn't be celebrating how the Risen Lord is shedding his light upon the entire world while your corner in the world remains in the dark. It is a contradiction even to what the deacon is proclaiming through the Exsultet: "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..." .. while our parish remains in darkness?? Let's pray that all priests and deacons are more attentive to the liturgical norms and celebrate "the great and most noble of all solemnities" they way the Church prescribes, so the beautiful rite of the Lucernarium truly communicates to the faithful what it is meant to, and the Light of the Risen Lord can illuminate the entire world, including every church where his glorious Resurrection is being celebrated at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night. Be passionate about our faith!
0 Comentarios
Deja una respuesta. |
About this BlogPosts written by Mauricio I. Pérez, award-winning Catholic journalist and best-selling author. Archives
Marzo 2024
Categories
Todo
|