“And now, this is the sweetest and most glorious day that ever my eyes did see.” ~ Donald Cargill
“This is the night…” That proclamation, sung at the Vigil Mass of Easter in the Exultet, is very moving. I always get chills as I sing it or hear it sung. “This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin. This is the night that even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and from the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them to his holy ones. This is the night, when Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld.” If that doesn’t speak glory and majesty, I don’t know what does.
Not only does it speak glory and majesty, it must be proclaimed so that a world, still steeped in darkness and sin, may hear that the opportunity of redemption has already been won for it by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, it must be proclaimed. And we are the ones who must do the proclaiming.
If we live in that mindset, each day becomes gift. We can honestly and joyfully proclaim that “This is the sweetest and most glorious day that ever my eyes did see.” Why? Because this day was given to us by God and we are alive to receive it. This is a wondrous day because it gives us the opportunity to share our faith and hope and joy with others. This is a glorious day because we bask in the love and light of the Lord rather than in the darkness and gloom of sin and death.
We must bring that to mind on a regular basis lest we become distracted by the world who would want us to believe that all is lost. No. All is not lost. Even in the midst of a world that swirls with corruption and sin of all sorts, a light gleams brightly. That light is the source of our joy. Don’t be afraid to proclaim it.
FAITH ACTION: Appreciate the gift of this day and relish it.