Fr. Robert J Carr podcasts for NewSongTV

When I arrived at my current parish, I put an end to a rather unique liturgical practice. For reasons never fully explained to me, the Easter Vigil for the English speaking community took place at four o’clock in the afternoon. As you know the Easter Vigil begins with the service of light. Fire is lit, blessed and from that fire candles are lit including the Easter candle. Every person in the church is holding a small candle and each one is aflame illuminating the church more and more based on how many people are attending. This is a powerful symbol of the importance of every light in the Church, one that translates to how important it is for each of us to be lights to each other. However at four o’clock in the afternoon when the sun is burning bright albeit a bit low in the sky, the candle ceremony makes absolutely no sense and cannot possibly be understood.

I tell that story in light of some of the events in the past several years when our world here in the United States is surrounded by a darkness that seeks to snuff out the Catholic faith. The darker the world is, the brighter our faith can be. Let’s face it, if we lived in a brilliant world, the Catholic faith would be invisible. However, since we live in a world of spiritual darkness, it is our opportunity to be the lights Christ called us to be. Are you ready?

As Catholics we have been through a troubled time in which our faith was tried and found wanting. It is clear that people seeking to destroy our voice have used the failings of some priests and other Catholics against us. What is most disturbing about this can be found in the words of Father Walter Czizek, S.J. Writing in his book, He Leadeth Me, Fr. Czizek elucidates his time in the Gulags suffering for fifteen years in the Soviet netherworld. He describes the above technique of using the failings of priests against Catholics by Soviet Communists and the German NAZI’s during the twentieth century. Equally, over the past six years, the political enemies of the Church employed the technique to likewise silence the voice of Catholicism. Granted both the Soviet and the Nazi political institutions failed but not without committing grave evils upon the world.

For those who do not understand the Catholic connection, the vast majority of non Jews executed in the NAZI concentration camps were indeed Catholics. The Soviets of course also closed Catholic churches and imprisoned priests.

Remember, however, darkness only serves to make the light easier to see and this darkness of the twentieth century brought forth our need to be lights to those around us now and always. If we do not understand this, then we miss the point of being Catholic and if we miss the point of being Catholic, well then what is the point? It is time to re-examine our call in service to God and then to act on that call in faith. Yet in order to do that we need to look at the call and how we indeed live it.

From the book Be Catholic Agents for Change by Fr. Robert J. Carr

Fr. Carr edits this blog. He is a Diocesan priest, Pastor at St. Benedict Parish in Somerville, MA and is an alliance member of the New Song Community.

(Please note: book link is to site not affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston nor New Song.)

Photo Credit:

Bottom: DJ White via BigSTockPhoto.com