The stone has been rolled away...and so has your car.
The Easter Vigil, with its fire-lit darkness, chants and recounting of salvation history is, by far, my favorite holy day. This year the experience was nothing short of spectacular. Taking place in four different languages (and lasting nearly four hours), it incorporated elements traditional and modern from the many cultures represented by the congregation. There were 52 people receiving sacraments of initiation. So many people were present that the church was overflowing.
Of course that posed a certain logistical problem since the church parking lot also happened to be overflowing...can you guess what happened next? If you said we had to stop half way through the service so members of the congregation could run out and move their cars away from the heartless clutches of the Whole Foods tow-truck operators, then you'd be right. (Seriously, at 11pm Whole Foods isn't even OPEN, what is their problem?)
But I, having learned my lesson, was safely parked blocks away in a public lot and was therefore able to stay right in my seat as the first of the baptisms got underway. Which was good, since I happened to be seated right near the baptismal font. And although the ritual is something I have witnessed a dozen times before, there was something about this night that just overwhelmed me with emotion. I'm not much of a "crier" so I was surprised at myself as I let the tears slip out. Maybe it was the beauty of the sacrament. Maybe it was the sheer number of people professing their faith. Maybe it was the multiculturalism and sense that this truly is a "catholic" church.
Then again, maybe I was just sad that all those people got their cars towed by Whole Foods.
Of course that posed a certain logistical problem since the church parking lot also happened to be overflowing...can you guess what happened next? If you said we had to stop half way through the service so members of the congregation could run out and move their cars away from the heartless clutches of the Whole Foods tow-truck operators, then you'd be right. (Seriously, at 11pm Whole Foods isn't even OPEN, what is their problem?)
But I, having learned my lesson, was safely parked blocks away in a public lot and was therefore able to stay right in my seat as the first of the baptisms got underway. Which was good, since I happened to be seated right near the baptismal font. And although the ritual is something I have witnessed a dozen times before, there was something about this night that just overwhelmed me with emotion. I'm not much of a "crier" so I was surprised at myself as I let the tears slip out. Maybe it was the beauty of the sacrament. Maybe it was the sheer number of people professing their faith. Maybe it was the multiculturalism and sense that this truly is a "catholic" church.
Then again, maybe I was just sad that all those people got their cars towed by Whole Foods.
posted by smurp at 9:47 PM
2 Comments:
There are moments in Church that are emotional and you can really feel the presence of God... it's a beautiful thing.
You can only hope that the folks who had their cars towed looked at the problem and thought, "who will roll away the stone for us!"
Ha! That always gives me a little confidence when I face unforeseen pains in the you-know-what.
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