Posted: 3/26/2005 6:43:05 PM EDT
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(And I use the word "awesome" advisedly.)The Great Vigil of Easter A fire is lit in the back of the church, and from it the Paschal (i.e., big honking) candle is lit. The candle is carried up the aisle by a priest chanting "The light of Christ," the people responding "Thanks be to God." Then lots of chanted prayers. Readings from the "big" deliverance stories of the Bible (creation, the Flood, the Dry Bones, crossing the Red Sea, et c.). Incense, chanted Eucharist (Bells & Smells, as they say). WOW. I know some people are either offended or unmoved by liturgical worship, but it stirs my soul and prostrates my heart as well as my body before God in adoration. |