Alleluia! The Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil last night at St. Julie Billiart Parish in Tinley Park was exquisite! What a beautiful experience of celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord! Here are the catechumens and candidates gathered around the soon-to-be-lit fire.

002

The Easter fire is lit in the darkened narthex of the church.

004

The Deacon did a wonderful job of singing the Exsultet…the Easter Proclamation…in the darkened church lit now by the candles held by all the faithful.

009

The Scripture readings were proclaimed with a dramatic flare. Here, water is poured into the baptismal font as the “Come to the water” reading is proclaimed.

011

The water is blessed

018

The first of the catechumens enters the waters of the baptismal font

019

Splash!!!

020

The Neophytes return in white baptismal garments

027

We all get wet, renewing our baptismal promises

026

At the reception following the Easter Vigil (which took just under 2 1/2 hours), the newly initiated receive homemade prayer shawls from fellow parisioners

033

Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen!

A Blessed Easter to all!!!

About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*