The Family Foundation School Catholic Community Bulletin
Pauca Verba (a few words)
Today is called Low Sunday
Were you at the Easter Vigil last Saturday night? We began after the sun had gone down behind the hills. The world is dark without Jesus! And then we lit the fire, symbolic of Jesus Christ Rising to a new life over death, fear and everything that assails us as darkness.
But before it all, feeling the wind, I knew it would be difficult to keep the great Pascal Candle and our own little candles lit. Of course, all of this is symbolic; something wants to extinguish the flame of faith in us. Something doesn’t want us believing in Christ’s Easter Victory and call to life!
At Easter time, Greek Christians gather in the dark for the lighting of the Easter Fire. Everyone brings a candle to light and then there is the challenge of getting the flame home safely to light the lamp before the icons of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. A young boy begins his journey stepping out into the dark night with his flame. His mother waits at home for him to return with the Holy Light! But there are great gusts of wind that blow on the candle. And there are bullies who mock and chase him, but he secures the flame. There are even dogs that terrify him. He stumbles in the dark along the road, but he keeps the Easter flame safe. Do I understand these things? The little flame of course is within us – it was ignited at Baptism and is renewed with vows at Easter. Do I have the stamina, the commitment, the perseverance, the intensity of faith to protect this flame of faith?
“Do everything you can to get Christ into your life; there is everything to take him away.”
On Holy Saturday morning, after the chapel rehearsal, we set up the stones in a circle where we would light the Easter Fire that night. A steady but gentle breeze was blowing downhill. The servers and I talked about that but felt that with the large number of people gathering we might even block the breeze from behind. But as the fire was ignited that night, the breeze turned into a wind and the flames started to race around in a circle and even reached out as if to set the vestments on fire. And the Easter Candle wouldn’t stay lit – even with three attempts! What are we to make of these things? Something wasn’t happy that we were celebrating Christ’s Resurrection at our school. Do you see? There’s a great challenge before us: I choose life, union and friendship with a Lord of Light! But keeping this alive is not and will not be easy. Something inside of us and outside of us prefers darkness! Wisdom! Be attentive!
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The baptism font is the womb of the Church. “My water broke” a mother says, knowing that the baby is on his/her way! We pass through water to get born. And we pass through water a second time in Baptism to get born from above – to get born into Christ and to begin my own THEOSIS – my becoming like God – a sharer in God’s energies, God’s goodness. This is the Christian life – not just to be nice – though for some of us that’s a good place to start – but to actually become a ‘new creation’ – a new kind of human person – new priorities, a new outlook, a new energy, a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing and relating to people, a new heavenly end!
