What is the Easter Vigil?

Holy Saturday & Easter Vigil

Holy Saturday is the day the Church waits with prayer and fasting for the resurrection of the Lord. It is a day of meditation on the suffering and death of Jesus, as well as his descent into hell. We wait with anticipation for the resurrection of Christ.

At nightfall on Holy Saturday, Christians will gather around a blazing fire. An Easter candle, prominently decorated with the symbols of Christ’s suffering and divinity, is lit from that fire. From this one light, the candles of hundreds will be lit and the church illumined. It is important that the liturgy for the Vigil begin and end in darkness so that the light of the candle can truly break the darkness of the night, just as Christ, risen in glory, shatters the darkness of the world.
 
The readings that are proclaimed tell the stories of all that God has done for his people from the beginning of time. As daylight approaches, water is blessed and new Christians are baptized. It is the night when the Church is called to the feast the Lord has prepared for us as a memorial of his Death and Resurrection until he comes again in glory.

From the Milwaukee Catholic Herald | CatholicHerald.org