Easter Vigils

Last night, Herself kept watch at the sickbed of Offspring the third, who was wretchedly ill with gastrointestinal distress. He is slightly improved today and is resting sorrowfully on the couch, unable to enjoy his Easter basket. We hope he recovers quickly.

In the wee hours, Herself had time to reflect on different vigils of past Easters. Twenty years ago at the Easter Vigil in an ornate Catholic church in Philadelphia, Herself was baptised, confirmed, and received her first Holy Communion. She described to me the peace and happiness she found as she knelt before the altar, and there is no doubt that it was a blessed moment.

Since then, Herself has fallen away from the Catholic church. There have been a combination of factors at work: her dissatisfaction with the hierarchy of the church, and sorrow and anger at abuses perpetrated by some of the priesthood; the many inflexible, seemingly narrow-minded and sometimes contradictory rules and beliefs that it appeared necessary to follow in order to be considered a good Catholic; and most of all, the prevalence of a disturbing "my way or the highway" attitude towards non-Catholics and sometimes even towards other members of the congregation who did not perform as expected.

She recognizes that Catholicism, like other religions, provides structure, hope, joy and comfort that is useful and beneficial for many people. She admires those of strong faith. While she cannot in good conscience adhere to the tenets, Catholicism has nevertheless provided for her many of the pieces of her own personal faith that she still holds close to her heart.

How glorious it is to hope that all of our transgressions will one day be washed away, and that we will be made whole. The hurts that we have inflicted on one another will be absolved, and the failings and stumbling blocks that have prevented us from seeing one another clearly will disappear. There will be no more loneliness, no more sorrow, no more pain. All mysteries will be revealed. There will be joy.

Today, holiest of days, we are grateful for the gifts of forgiveness and love that have been bestowed upon us. We vow to try even harder to treat others as we would want to be treated, and to look after one another with patience and love. Thank You.