Keeping Vigil...with a smile!

Last night, we went to the Easter Vigil, as has become our custom. I love the candlelight liturgy from beginning to end...the readings and the music, and the moment when, after the baptismal covenant, the priest announces He is risen! and the darkness is replaced by the sanctuary lights blazing forth. It is a solemn affair, more formal than our usual relaxed, contemporary Sunday Mass...but I love it. And I like the kids being exposed to traditional services sometimes, too, because while I understand the need for the casual, relaxed atmosphere that has prevailed in most 21st century churches, I don't want them to think of their relationship with God as something to be taken lightly.

The Easter Mass begins at 8:30, and usually takes about 2-2.5 hours, depending on the number of baptisms taking place. When we arrived last night, we learned that there were no acolytes on hand, so Emily quickly threw on a robe and Brian acted as Beadle, so they were sitting up front together after their procession, while Sara and I were seated with the rest of the congregation, towards the middle on the right. Sara held out her candle to be lit by the Paschal candle during the procession, and proudly held it very still...right up to the moment when her head dropped back against the back of pew and she fell asleep. I took the candle from her little hand and blew it out, and continued with the service, figuring I could wake her for the Eucharist.

Then she began to snore. We're talking seriously snore. Sara's bedroom is the furthest one from the living room of our 2400 square foot house, and we still sometimes have to turn up the tv if she's in bed, even if her door is closed. My tiny little blonde can put most grown men to shame with the sheer volume she emits. Such was the case last night. I startled a bit when I heard her, in the middle of a reading, and as the people surrounding us began to smile and nudge one another, I leaned down and tried to wake her by patting her cheek and whispering her name. This only caused her to turn her head to the side and mutter a few unintelligible sounds mid-snore before resuming at an even louder volume, which our neighboring parishioners found utterly hilarious. The guttural sounds continued throughout the Gospel reading and baptismal covenant. When the lights came on, she opened her eyes for a moment and laid down on her side in the pew, finally silencing the snores. During the passing of the Peace, the little old lady immediately in front of me, who had remained stoic throughout, turned and grinned at me, and said, "now that girl knows how to sleep!" Several others came up to see the source of the racket, laughing at the sight of the dainty little girl in her Easter dress drooling all over the pew.

So, in the end, the beautiful liturgy was still beautiful, and the little girl in her Easter dress snoring like someone's grandpa was also beautiful...and funny...and a good reminder that children are simply the sign of a Living Church, even a traditional one. Happy Easter!