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Holy Saturday -- Easter Vigil

Amazing.

I spent the day nervously trying to get everything in order. Did a bunch a laundry. Helped our son finish the giant paper mache Easter eggs that we were to give to his cousins. Tried on my outfit again. Ran to the Catholic bookstore to look for a gift for our sponsors, a Rosary for my husband and a few things for the kids' Easter baskets. I didn't find a gift (I have a thing about knick-knacks) and I couldn't decide on a Rosary, so I just bought books for the children. Then back home to shower, scribble out instructions for the sitter, nurse the baby, dress and head out the door.

My husband always looks splendid in a suit. I managed to fit into a pre-pregnancy get-up and pull it off rather well. We arrived at the church a few minutes later than anticipated. Mostly because the baby started wailing when I said good-bye (I don't think she recognized me in something other than jeans). But it was just final comments from the priest and a few other details to go over, so we didn't miss much.

I suppose the Easter Vigil Mass is the same everywhere. We filed in as a group, then they started turning off the lights. One of our regular readers is married to a blind woman, so she did all the readings out of a Braille Bible. It was riveting -- only one small flame that drew the eye, and then a mellow, patient voice reading the Word of God.

When the lights came on, the orchestra in the choir loft came in loud and clear with timpani and trumpets. Just the sort of thing to make your heart leap into your throat. An amazing feast of the senses.

After that, baptisms. I was the last one in line (conditional), and it was my third baptism so I hope this one takes. (My first baptismal certificate was thrown away in a fit of pentacostalism and my parents couldn't remember what parish I was baptized in, so I wasn't able to find the original. And I didn't have a certificate from my second baptism, either.)

Then the profession of faiths from the other candidates, including my husband. Then confirmation. Then Holy Communion. You'll be happy to know I didn’t trip or spill the wine when I brought it forward.

All in all, quite the glorious experience. Our sponsors gave us beautiful rosaries afterwards, so I'm glad I didn't find one for my husband. And one of the priests saw us open the packages so he popped right over to bless them for us.

We got home shortly after 11:15, and the kids were both still up, and both still happy. I guess the sitter won the baby over right away and she didn't cry at all. (The baby, not the sitter. Or maybe both of them were dry-eyed all night. I didn't ask.) Originally, I had hoped to have the kids with us during Easter Vigil, but in retrospect, it worked out better that we had a sitter. It would have been too hard to keep such small kids in line, especially since neither of them were in the mood to sleep. We're doing their profession of faith next Saturday.

We finally got the kids down shortly before midnight, but then neither one of us could sleep. I was hungry -- I hadn't been able to eat much all day -- so my husband dashed out for late-night burgers from the A&W. Sort of a funny way to close the day. I slept well after that, though. It was a good day. A grand day.