On this night, the Vigil of Holy Saturday, around the world in the darkness of churches lit up only by the Paschal Candle, there will be the chanting of an ancient hymn dating to the 5th century, which marks the beginning of Easter: the Exultet. It is the pinnacle of the Churchs year, the moment when the essential and the sublime is proclaimed. Its verses contain the incredibly stupefying remark: O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned for us so great, so glorious a redeemer! The highpoint in terms of symbolism of the liturgy of this night is the intonation of the Gloria. When the priest sings the joyous first verse of the Gloria in excelsis Deo..., forbidden during Lent, the darkened church is lit up, bells are rung, statues covered for two weeks are unveiled, the organ which has been silent during Lent strikes up, the choir continues, candles are lit, flowers absent during Lent are placed on the altar, all often carried out in a swift and synchronized way as in this clip from Birmingham Oratory. I first saw this done properly when I was 18 years old in a large church in Paris and I wept before the sight and sound of something so breathtaking and so eerie. Whether or no Catholicism is true is a matter of faith; however, only an idiot would refuse to acknowledge its continuity and beauty.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 02:59:00 +0000
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