Fanning the Flame of Faith
My grandparents did not live nearby. For Easter and Christmas and other times throughout the year, we would travel 4 and 5 hours away to visit them. It was sometimes hard not having grandparents nearby. In our community, when I was young, we were related to no one but our immediate family, while so many of the other Catholic families had been here for generations and had many relatives nearby. What many of them did not know is that we, too, came from very large, devout Catholic families. When we would travel to visit family, we had aunts and uncles and cousins close by and very large gatherings where we celebrated holidays. When there were family reunions, more family came from out of town.
I have such happy memories of visiting my grandparents. This week in particular I am thinking about how, as a little girl, our family would attend Saturday Evening Easter Vigil Mass with my mom’s mother. Easter Vigil is easily the longest Mass of the year and can last 2, 3, or even more hours. It is when new Catholics are Baptized, receive their First Communion, and anyone who needs to be Confirmed receives the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is when we hear several readings from scripture telling the story of Salvation History from the time of Creation until the joyful Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every detail of the Mass has meaning. Every detail tells us something about who we are as Catholic Christians. Just like that feeling I would get when we would visit our extended family, the Easter Vigil Mass reminds us that we, as Catholic Christians, are a part of a much larger family in Christ. There is an excitement as the Mass unfolds. It is the unfolding of who we are as human beings and how we have been saved.
There is a particular moment in the Mass when the Easter candle is lit. Once the Easter candle is lit, the priest takes a small candle and lights it. And then he lights the next person’s candle. On and on this goes until each person is holding a candle and the church is lit up with candlelight symbolizing the light of Christ. It is beautiful. It is breathtaking. It is humbling. So many little lights make one enormous light.
As a little girl I would stand next to my grandma at this Mass. It would come time for the moment when she would lean over and take her candle and light mine. Dignified, beautiful, humble. Grandma was passing the light of Christ to me. I can still remember her standing, holding her candle with confidence, with assurance, with great faith. Year after year my candlelight came from hers. It touched my soul so deeply to have my grandma fan the flame of my faith with that small, simple gesture.
Most years we attend the Easter Vigil Mass as a family. It is not required, but we love to go, even if it is a sacrifice with little ones because it starts late and goes long. We love to hear the readings from scripture, we love to light each other’s candles, we love to see the new Catholics Baptized, and we love to feel that sense of joy that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are a part of the Body of Christ - we are part of the family of Christ. And in my soul, even though grandma is no longer on this earth, I know she passed to me something eternal when she fanned the flame of my faith.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5, New American Bible
What are the small things I can do for my children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, family, and friends to fan the flame of their faith?
Is there someone in my life who needs me to encourage them by fanning the flame of their faith?
If I am not Catholic, is God perhaps calling me to step closer to Him? What or who is holding me back?
Who are the people who have helped fan the flame of my faith throughout my life? Do they know?
What small gestures or words have made a large impact on me and encouraged me in my faith?