Sunday 12 April 2009

Easter Evening Light

The Cathedral's 150th Holy Week comes to an end, and the celebration of Easter begins. Everyone is ready for a break - lots of volunteers have given a tremendous number of hours to fold and staple booklets, work in the sacristy, serve at the altar, arrange flowers, clean and so on. During Holy Week there were 22 public liturgies in the Cathedral - somewhat more than our small team can normally provide! It is, of course, not only worthwhile, but also necessary: we must celebrate to the very best of our ability the great mysteries at the heart of our faith. At the end of this Easter Day the Lord has provided a final glimpse of His splendour - a wonderful glow of orange light bathed the east end of the Cathedral after the evening Mass.

The Paschal Candle, standing over 10 feet tall once in its stand, stands out well against the light of the setting sun...

... and here the Lady Chapel and the Sacred Heart statue are caught in the glow.

The liturgies of Holy Week have gone well and at times have been very impressive - but it seems this evening the Lord Himself has had the last word.