What kind of rituals occur during a Catholic Easter Vigil?

Question

I went to church for my first time on Saturday night and participated in a Easter Vigil ceremony. I was very confused as to what the rituals represented. Can anyone explain them to me (i.e. sitting/standing, palm trees behind the crucifix, swinging of a smoke pendulum-thing), moments of silence after the sermon)???

Answer 1

The Easter Vigil Mass is the high point of the entire Church year and would be impossible to explain fully but I will try to give you a start.

The Mass:
+ Is the principal sacramental celebration of the Catholic Church
+ Was established by Jesus at the Last Supper
+ Renews the mystery of our salvation through participation in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Christ

In the Mass, we:
+ Gather as one family
+ Admit our sins, ask God for forgiveness, and the saints and each other for prayer and support
+ Glorify God
+ Listen to, ponder and reflect on His Word from the Scriptures
+ Pray for the Church, the world, those in need, and ourselves
+ Celebrate the Eucharist (Holy Communion) in obedience with Christ's command to "do this in memory of me."
+ Are sent out into the world to love and serve the Lord and one another

It is called "Mass" (from the Latin missa) because of the "mission" or "sending" with which the liturgical celebration concludes.

Here is an outline of the usual Sunday Mass:

+ Introductory Rites
. + Entrance (All stand)
. + Greeting
. + Act of Penitence
. + Kyrie Eleison (Latin for "Lord have mercy")
. + Gloria
. + Opening Prayer

+ Liturgy of the Word
. + First Reading - usually from the Old Testament (All sit)
. + Responsorial Psalm
. + Second Reading - usually from a New Testament Epistle
. + Gospel Reading (All stand)
. + Homily (All sit for the sermon)
. + Profession of Faith (the Nicene Creed) (All stand)
. + Prayer of the Faithful (prayers of petition)

+ Liturgy of the Eucharist
. + The Preparation of the Gifts - the bread and wine are brought forward and placed on the altar, our monetary offerings are also collected at this time (All sit)
. + The Prayer over the Offerings (All stand)
. + The Eucharistic Prayer - during this prayer the bread and wine change into the Body and Blood of Christ (Catholics kneel, visitors may kneel or sit)
. + The Lord's Prayer (All stand)
. + The Rite of Peace (We offer each other a sign of peace)
. + The Breaking of the Bread
. + Communion - non-Catholics are requested out of respect not to receive Communion, they may approach the altar with their arms crossed over their chest to receive a blessing (Stand or kneel according to local custom)

+ The Concluding Rites
. + Announcements (All sit)
. + Blessing (All stand)
. + Dismissal
. + Procession

+ Posture
During Mass, Catholics:
- Stand to pray as a community or listen to the Gospel
- Sit to listen to other bible readings and the homily and during the presentation of the gifts
- Kneel during the consecration of the Eucharist

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

The Vigil is the big day and yes, there are a lot of rituals and symbols.

The first rite is called the Liturgy of Light. A new fire is started and blessed. The fire represents the light that the risen Christ brings to the world. Then a candle is marked with Christian symbols and the numbers of the current year. The cross is obvious. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, "alpha" and "omega", represent the scope of God's power and dominion. The five grains of incense (sometimes emphasized by wax "nails") stand for the five wounds Christ received in his hands and side. This "Paschal Candle" symbolizes Christ's resurrection and the illumination he provides for the world. It is supposed to be lit for all masses until Pentecost.

The second rite is the Liturgy of the Word, expanded from the normal three readings to encompass a representative sampling of salvation history.

The third part is the Liturgy of Baptism, at which Catechumens are baptized and fully initiated into the Church. The water represents the cleansing from former sin, a symbolic "burial" of the old life and initiation into a new life in Christ. The small, personal candle again represents the light of Christ. The white robe represents "putting on Christ" (a scriptural reference). Those who are confirmed are anointed with a perfumed oil called "chrism", signifying a special calling by God and the invocation of the Holy Spirit to come upon the confirmed and guide their lives.

The service concludes with the standard Liturgy of the Eucharist, like an ordinary Mass. But you mentioned some other elements that are not specific to that liturgy.

The incense is actually grains of an aromatic resin placed on a hot coal in the censor. As it burns, the odor of the smoke spreads through the room. This was an ancient practice used when nobles and royalty travelled through the city among the peasants, often under conditions of primitive hygiene. It was sort of the air freshener of its day. We may not appreciate the particulates as much but the idea is to express honor for the book of Gospels, the altar gifts, the altar, the priest and the assembly. (And the smoke wafts up sort of like people imagine prayer does.)

The palm trees behind the crucifix may be normal indoor landscaping, or they may have been left from Palm Sunday as a reminder that the triumphal entry and the Passion occured in the same city.

Standing is done during the parts of Mass that involve the most participation of the assembly. It is also a mark of respect for the Gospel reading. Kneeling is done, at least in the Western Hemisphere, during the consecration of the Eucharistic bread and wine. And sitting is done when the assembly has no active role. And silence allows people to meditate for a few moments on the readings and the homily (as well as the reception of Communion).

The "strangeness" of the Catholic rituals developed from a realization that actions make words more "real". Symbolic movements and actions are called "signs" and are meant to draw attention to the type of prayer being prayed. So the business with the candle, marking, lighting, marching, singing, is a prayer that we will be able to perceive the world by Christ's light. The laying on of hands at Confirmation is a prayer for the Spirit's intervention. It gets the body praying as well as the mind, so that worship is not just an intellectual exercise. The idea is that God cannot be contained in mere words. Sometimes you just have to drop the words and immerse yourself in the "mystery" of God.

You might try out an Orthodox church sometime. Liturgically, they leave Catholics way behind in a trail of incense and icons.

Answer 3

Well, it's a little late BUT.... 1) The length of the Easter Vigil Mass depends on a couple variables a- the number of readings used ( there can be between 3 and 9) and b- the number of people entering the Church. When my husband came into the Church, the Mass lasted- I kid you not- +FOUR HOURS...I love the Mass, but that was murder- we had 5 kids under the age of 6 and I was pregnant with #6....and alone in the pew! Ours was 2 hours on Saturday...about average- it IS the biggest Mass of the year in terms of importance! 2. Place your hands over your chest and the priest/deacon/extrordinary minister of Holy COmmunion will give you a blessing. BTW- you don't need to be Confirmed- if you made your First Communion, you can receive the Eucharist if you are in a state of Grace...if not- go to Confession and you may receive the Eucharist.( since you haven't been going to Church, confession should be the first stop) 3. There is no dress code. It is like any Mass- some will dress to the nines, others wear jeans. I work for the Church, so I dress up a little. My very fervant Catholic 17 year old son wore jeans and a nice shirt....my equally fervant 9 year old wore her prettiest spring dress.

Answer 4

On Holy Thursday the church was stripped. The reserved Sacrament (bread) is taken out of the church and moved to another location-the altar of repose. On this night, the Gloria is sung for the first time since Ash Wednesday because it marks the end of the 40 day Lenten Fast and the beginning of the 3 day Triduum.

On Good Friday people venerate (kiss) the cross, and have communion from the reserve sacrament.

After sunset on Saturday, the Easter vigil begins. In the ancient church this marked the end of the period of the catechumenate, or preparation for baptism.

A new fire is kindled and brought into the church as the lighted Pascal candle. Pascal refers to Passover, the night when the children of Israel left Egypt. Christ is the Passover lamb.

The people light their candles from the Pascal candle. The death of Christ was marked by darkness. The resurrection is marked by the return of the light.

The palm trees are reminders of the preceding Sunday when we heard about Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

The readings in the semi-darkness are the salvation history of God's people through the Old Testament period.

The lights come on, the Gloria is sung marking the announcement of the resurrection.

Water is blessed and the holy water is distributed around the church and the people are sprinkled with it, as a reminder of their baptism.

Baptisms and receptions into full membership may happen at this time.

The swinging smoke thing is a thurible and the sweet smelling smoke is incense. This is symbolic of our prayers rising as incense and as making our offering sweet and pleasing.

Silences are times for people to reflect. More and more silence in incorporated into worship. God is polite and does not speak to us when we are busy yapping.

Answer 5

Wow- to go to Church for the first time at the Easter Vigil! You certainly picked the absolute PEAK of ceremony and ritual!!

OK-

The whole thing at the beginning at the back of the Church was the blessing of the Paschal- or Easter- Candle. It is lit for every Mass until Pentecost, then for weddings, and funerals and baptisms- until next Easter when we make a new one. (for the curious, prior year candles are sold back to the candle company)

When we stand, it is to show respect, we kneel when we are in the Eucharistic prayers, because Christ becomes present to us at that time. We sit when we are to be listening to other parts of the Mass.

Palm trees behind the Crucifix sounds like simple decoration.

The "smoke thing" was incense- it represents our prayers rising up to Heaven and is also in itself a gift to God- remember incense was one of the gifts the wise men brought- a gift for GOD ( myrrh sybolised deathe, gold for a king)

What you call a sermon we call a homily. The silence is a time of reflection upon what the priest just said- it was a lesson about the readings you just heard and how to apply them to your life.

You also saw baptisms and confirmations- people entering the Church.

I'm not sure what else to tell you- there was a LOT going on!

Feel free to contact me with other questions.

Answer 6

Palms represent Palm Sunday which was the Sunday before which is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, just before the Crucifixion

Sitting, well you normal sit in church, the standing is a sign of respect to God

The incense is a blessing.(it is also biblical) It is to bless the alter and those in the church

Moments of silence, people were praying

Answer 7

http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=1043

Answer 8

http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/eastervigil.shtml