Last Wednesday evening, I experienced the beautiful prayer of Tenebrae, named after the Latin word for darkness.
Since the earliest centuries of the Church, believers gathered during the Easter Triduum to offer Scripture readings, texts from the Church Fathers, and hymns to honor the suffering, Passion, and death of the Lord.
Focused on the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the Tenebrae service progresses with the steady extinguishing of candles to represent the darkness of the world when Satan and the forces of evil seemed to have triumphed when Christ had died on the Cross.
The silence, darkness, and final dramatic noise of wooden clappers move the spirit profoundly, as we contemplate the horror of the crucifixion and the despair we would bitterly taste forever, had it not been for the Resurrection.
Similarly, the blessing of the Easter fire on Holy Saturday night, followed by the lighting of the new Easter Candle and the procession into the church in darkness is another moving experience, as we smell the fire, breathe in the incense, walk together in the dark, and watch the light gradually spread as the assembly light their candles from the Paschal flame.
The chanting of the Exsultet and the narration of salvation history carried on in the dark until the reading of the New Testament Epistle, like Tenebrae, speak powerfully to us of Christ as the light of the world who conquers the powers of sin and death.
A symbol of God
Light is a primordial symbol of God, as ancient as the original command of God at the dawn of creation: Let there be light! How telling that we cannot observe the pure essence of light itself; we simply see everything else in the illumination of its radiance.
Similarly, we cannot look upon God Himself in this life, but we can see reality clearly in the illumination of wisdom and truth of the Lord which He bestows upon us.
Both the Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Manoppello bear images of the crucified Christ and are believed to be, respectively, the winding burial cloth which wrapped the body and the separate fabric which wrapped the head of Jesus.
These images do not consist of paint, dye, or any other human creation. They are radiated images, seemingly created by an intense impulse of light and energy.
Obviously, our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus does not stand or fall on the authenticity of these ancient pieces of fabric, but if they are what many people believe them to be, they point to the reality of the Resurrection as a supernatural explosion of light.
Christ: The light of the world
This Easter, I focus on Christ as the light of the world, the One who conquers the fearsome machinations of the Evil One, scattering the forces of sin and blindness.
We live in an age of much darkness and confusion. The incessant violence of abortion, terrorism, wars, and abuse; the ongoing racial, religious, and ethnic hatred; the increasing intolerance of traditional moral teachings regarding the human person, the origin and end of life, sexuality, marriage, and family; the stark economic imbalances of the planet; the spikes in depression, loneliness, and suicide all point to a very disturbing trend of chaos and nihilism.
In the midst of this darkness, the light of Christ shines forth in the glory of His risen life.
St. John’s Gospel reminds us that nothing can snuff out this light or overcome it.
Jesus has gained the victory for us; we simply need to surrender to His saving Gospel and live out our vocation as missionary disciples.
In the present moment, in the face of so much difficulty and challenge, we may be tempted to fall into despair or at least complacency, but the truth of the Resurrection does not permit us to check out of faith and life.
No matter the pain, obstacle, or setback, our answer to every human situation of tragedy and defeat is the startling fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead; this truth is the pivot of human history and the reassurance that the Lord will never abandon us or leave us to suffer the terrible consequences of our sins and failures.
Love always wins out!
Traditionally, saints are depicted with halos of light around their heads, an artistic expression of the radiance of God’s presence shining forth from them.
Do we not all know people who in fact are incandescent, who can light up a room, energize a party, make a grey day joyful, and just give us an extra burst of hope, laughter, and love?
When we open ourselves to the love of Jesus, seeking to offer compassion, forgiveness, and attention to others, the light of God shines upon us and we share that illuminative power with the world.
How telling that people who have claimed near-death experiences consistently speak of an overwhelming light enveloping them.
Called to be light
In January 1979, St. John Paul II concluded a visit to Mexico, his first papal trip abroad since being elected pope three months before.
Millions of Mexicans attended his Masses, listened to him speak, or stood for hours in the heat to simply catch a fleeting glimpse as he passed by in the popemobile.
At the end of this journey, tens of thousands of faithful came to the airport in Mexico City to say farewell to the pontiff. As the plane took off for its return flight to Rome, the pope looked out the window below, and what he observed moved him to tears.
Every member of that vast crowd had brought a mirror with them, and was holding it up now to the radiant sun, creating a beautiful ocean of light! Isn’t that how it is for us?
When we refract the energizing light of God together, through lives of faithful service, we become this sea of radiance. We are called to be the light of the world because we live in union with the Lord who is the light of the world.
May you know and feel the light of Christ ever more powerfully in this Easter season!