A view of our Paschal Candle after our Easter High Mass, featuring placement of the incense grains on the Candle just before the Liturgy with these words;
Grain #1 "Through His wounds"
Grain #2 "glorious"
Grain #3 "may He guard"
Grain #4 "and protect us"
Grain #5 "Christ the Lord. Amen"
Followed by lighting the Candle, censing the Candle, and then a reading of the Exsultet [BCP pg. 286], after which the Altar Candles are lite with a flame from the Paschal Candle and the Mass begins with "Alleluia, Christ is Risen. The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia".
The Paschal Candle is essential and central to the Easter Mass because because the risen Christ shines a new light into our lives.
The Paschal Candle will shine at each Mass during the Season of Easter only to be extinguished after the reading the Gospel on Ascension Day.
The light of Christ and the message of the Gospel proclaimed on Easter Sunday, the Day of Resurrection is one we need to hear every year. But perhaps especially this year, when the whole world has been led into a place of fear; fear inspired by the notion of death.
Perhaps like no recent year do we need to hear these words from the Proper Preface for Easter and take them to heart, "By his death he has destroyed death, and by his rising to life again he has won for us everlasting life."
In the days and months ahead we will have new opportunities to be the light of Christ for the world. Let us keep the light of the Paschal Candle in our minds that it may encourage us to take advantages of those opportunities to be the light so that the darkness of the world is pushed back, bit by bit by every Christian spreading just a little more light into the world in which he or she works.
Alleluia Christ is Risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
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