Join us at the table of the Lord

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for the celebration of the Easter Vigil offers a rich collection of Hebrew Testament texts, psalms and Christian Testament passages which trace our salvation history from creation to our proclamation of “Jesus lives”. Andy Alexander, S.J.shares his experience of this liturgy when the Church welcomes into full communion new members who have been preparing in prayer and study to join their brothers and sisters in the experience of the Presence of God through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. We rejoice as we accept the invitation of Christ to renew and initiate our Baptismal vows. We open ourselves to the transformation of our hearts of stone to the hearts of flesh with which we commit to be faithful to the piety of our anointing as priest, the truth seeking required in our role as prophet and our presence representing Christ in our role as leader. This celebration of the Presence of Christ is an intimate experience of “bells and smells”, water and oil and light pushing back the darkness which leads to our contemplation that the Risen One lives and we are invited to be the Temple of His Presence. Like many of the big moments in our lives which we approach through ceremony, liturgy, custom, tradition, we need time for the enormity of the change to sink in. “He is Risen!” is our declaration. Our Eucharistic experience of His invitation to live in Him grows with our time spent at the table of the Lord.