Lumen Christi

Lumen Christi

My first assignment as a priest was at the Cathedral in St. Paul. I had served there the previous summer as a deacon. The building itself was a huge concrete structure built on the design of St. Peter’s in Rome. Sitting on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, it dominated the city skyline.

The cathedral was an inner city church and the religious center of the Catholic Archdiocese. As an assistant pastor, I was involved in all the liturgical ceremonies of the Church. Along with three other assistants, we were chaplains for fourteen nursing homes and three hospitals in the area. The pastoral demands of baptizing, marrying and burying were great training for me.

My reason for sharing ancient history is that I woke up this morning with this phrase running through my head: Lumen Christi. What brought this to mind I don't know? Lying there, pondering those words, I thought of my years at the Cathedral.

On the Saturday night before Easter Sunday the Cathedral held an Easter Vigil. That service began in complete darkness and silence. Then with the strike of a match a five-foot candle was lit. It was my job to carry the lit candle, held high processing down the center isle stopping three time and singing (shouting) “Lumen Christi.”

At this stage of life memories of the past are coming with increased frequency. Some are scary wondering did that really happen and how did I survive. Others are a reminder of the continual faithfulness of God at critical junctures. Although those days at the Cathedral were an intense indoctrination into pastoral ministry, they forged the character of a pastor in me.

Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” And in Proverbs, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Amen!