He Is Risen! (thoughts on the Vigil and other things)

A very happy Easter to everyone, and a joyful "WELCOME HOME!" to the thousands who entered the fullness of the Christian faith last night at the Easter V.I.G.I.L. Mass!*

(*As anyone who has brought small children to this Mass can attest, V.I.G.I.L. stands for Very Incredibly Gigantically Interminably Long.)

As RCIA coordinator at my parish, last night I had the profound honor of seeing ten people I've taught, talked with and prayed these past six months find their home in the Holy Catholic Church. I met their families, heard more about their individual stories, learned the names they had chosen for their Confirmation, and watched with joy as one by one they proclaimed their faith and received our Lord in the Eucharist for the very first time.

My eyes welled up with tears as I watched our two catechumens receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Two lifetimes of sin, washed away in a moment. Two brand new starts, this time with sacramental grace to guide them. Maybe it's the former protestant in me, but I get much more emotional watching adults choose baptism than I do watching infants be baptized. The baptism of an infant is a pure, happy, and beautiful moment, to be sure, but the shock factor of an adult raised in our anti-Christian, shallow, hedonistic culture choosing to follow Christ, and all that entails, is a powerful reminder that the Holy Spirit is still actively at work in the world. What other explanation could there be for such a thing?

I may have teared up a bit at the baptisms, but I lost all pretense of keeping it together when the catechumens and candidates received Holy Communion. I was overwhelmed with the memory of the experience I had when I took my first Communion two years ago and crumbled into a full-on lip trembling, teary, mascara-smeared mess. I hope the experience of receiving Jesus -- body, blood, soul and divinity -- for the very first time was every bit as thrilling for my friends as it was for me, and then some.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my favorites in the class, just by virtue of their backstories and varying participation levels. Despite the fact I've known them all the same amount of time, some have been more active in class, so I feel I know them better. One of my favorites, whom I feel okay about outing here because he already outed himself, is John C. Wright, science fiction author, lawyer and ex-atheist Christian apologist extraordinaire. He joined late in the year, and the level of discourse in the class escalated rapidly after that -- rather unsurprisingly for anyone who has read his blog, he had a lot of thought-provoking questions and commentary. I am honored and grateful to have been used by God in even the smallest way to assist this man on his journey into the fullness of faith. I'm excited to see the ways big and small in which God will use his servant John. If you're reading this, John: Congratulations and welcome home.

All in all, it was an incredible night. My biggest regret is that I didn't make the most of Lent this year -- I know the experience could have been even richer if I had sacrificed more and focused harder on having a spiritually productive Lent. As it was, I didn't really buckle down and do more than the minimum required by the Church until Holy Week. I have another post's worth to say about that, but for now, it's off to spend time with my family and enjoy this, the greatest feast of the Christian year.

He is risen, indeed!

A New Year, A New Life

Well, the ball is in my court. I talked to the priest after RCIA last week and told him I'd discovered that the "normal" way of entry to the Catholic Church for a faithful churchgoer like me is to just join -- no RCIA necessary. He agreed. So whenever I'm ready, I can just go to confession and take first communion.

I'm torn. I believe in the Church. I want to be part of it. It kills me to sit there during Mass and not be able to physically receive Jesus in the Eucharist. So I should just join and everything will be perfect, right? But there's a part of me that loves the idea of this waiting time as a time of penance, preparation and reflection. The build-up to Easter Vigil, the significance of my spiritual renewal in God's Church conjoined with Jesus' Resurrection -- the symbolism is great, and imbues this rite of passage with much meaning and drama.

So, to wait and reflect, or jump in with both feet on faith. That is the question. In the interest of family unity, I'm leaning toward doing this sooner rather than later. My son was baptized on New Year's Eve (a joyous occasion it was!), and my husband, of course, is ready to come "home" as soon as we cen get our marriage convalidated (the "living as brother and sister" idea was a bit much for him, so he's waiting to take communion until we're "legal"). So we meet with the priest as a family on February 2, and we'll make all the arrangements then.

It's so strange to think of how different my life will be. Catholicism, this ancient, alien (to me) faith, will now be a part of the rhythm of our daily lives. It will dictate how we spend our Sundays, affect how we make love and plan for children, cost us a fortune in Catholic school tuition if we choose to go that route . . .

But it will also unify us with a body of believers around the world who all live with that same rhythm. We can go on vacation in Europe or South America or Australia and worship the same way we do at home. Have you ever noticed how very American most non-denominational protestant churches are? It's hard to picture the format translating elsewhere, even as the world becomes smaller and more interconnected. But the Catholic, or universal Church transcends both nationality and culture. It's centered on one thing, which is the weekly acceptance of Christ by His people in a tangible form given and commanded by the Lord Himself. The Eucharist is the same in every language and every culture. It is Jesus, come to save.