Our exquisite Paschal Candle designed by one of our own Sisters!

Paschal Candle designed by Sr. Mary Leonora, Provincial Superior of the Daughters of St. Paul, US/ESCanada Province

Sr. Mary Leonora shares with us the 
symbolism of our 2017 Paschal Candle

The regular symbols of the Easter candle are all present:

¨      the Cross (we profess a Christ who was crucified)

¨      the Alpha and Omega

¨      the Year 2017 (all time belongs to Him and all ages)

¨      the five Nails of incense (His sacred wounds).

This is the essential symbolism proper to every Paschal candle, but the candle is also a visual commentary on the mystery we celebrate. In this 100^th year of the Apparitions of Fatima the Paschal Candle focuses on Christ our Redeemer, and Mary ever Virgin as the distributor and Mediatrix of the graces won for us by her Son and poured out on us in Baptism and the other Sacraments.

In the center of the candle is Jesus, perfect Sacrifice and High Priest, risen in glory, His arms raised to the Father and outstretched to embrace everyone: “And I, when I am lifted up, will draw everyone to myself.” His robes are priestly: red, because He has offered His very life and His blood for us; gold and silver, signifying His Divinity and His glory.

His wounds gleam like jewels, for by them we have been healed. His wounded side glistens just below the center nail of incense, and out of it flow blood and water. Behind Him is the Cross, the instrument of our salvation and the altar of sacrifice. The figure of Jesus as Priest reminds us that the Mass is the perfect Sacrifice and the most sublime act of adoration and praise we can offer to the Father; it is our greatest source of grace.

At the side of Jesus stands Mary, His Mother and our Mother – His precious gift to us as He was dying. She is Mediatrix of Grace, the Woman who stands with Jesus through every suffering and pain, the Faithful One. Stabat!  The three stars on Our Lady’s veil and dress proclaim that she was Virgin before, during and after the Incarnation of her Divine Son.

With one arm Mary embraces Him and holds her hand out to receive the blood from His side. The other arm is extended to bestow that blood on humanity. As she lets the blood fall upon us it is transform into light-filled drops of grace, distributed through her own gift of the Rosary.

The blood and water that pass through Mary’s fingers, not to be immediately distributed, fall into a jar – symbol of the Church, reminiscent of Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” In docility to the Church, in obedience, is abundance of grace. This grace is distributed especially through the Sacraments.

Beneath the central figures flow the waters of Baptism, breaking the darkness and filling it with the Light of Christ.

Above these same figures are the green and gold of New Life and the promise of Eternal Life. The Spirit of God is symbolized, reminding us of Mary’s Fiat at the beginning of the Redemption, as well as of the birth of the Church in the Cenacle. It is also a reminder of the promise of the Divine Master to His own to send the Spirit to them.

The candle is an invitation to Exult, to Magnify the Lord with Mary! So we sing this Easter night:

Exult!...

O wonder of Your humble care for us!

O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave You gave away Your Son!

O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!

O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

Meaning of the Paschal Candle

Every year, at the solemn beginning of the Easter vigil, we hold what is called "The Service of Light" in which a fire is blessed, and from this fire the paschal candle is lit. It is sometimes called the Easter candle or Christ candle; its name comes from pasach, the Hebrew word for Passover. 

After a period of darkness beginning on Good Friday, congregations first light this candle which signals Christ’s banishment of death and darkness. The priest  marks the candle with the symbols Christ's passion saying, "By his holy and glorious wounds may Christ our Lord guard us and keep us. Amen." The candle represents Jesus' steadfast presence in our midst, through all that we may experience, come what may. Often there is an image of the Risen Jesus of great beauty carved into the wax. We continue lighting the paschal candle each Sunday throughout the Easter season until Pentecost

The Paschal Candle is also used for baptisms, signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit and that the newly baptized in now living in the light of Christ. "Just as Jesus is light for the world, you are

called to shine as a light for other people. You are also called to bring light to the world." (My Baptism Remembrance Book, Pauline Books & Media)

We light the paschal candle at both the beginning and the end of life.  Its presence at the head of a casket at a funeral reminds us again that Jesus overcame death, not only for himself, but to free all of us from the slavery of sin and death. Those who are united to him by the covenant of baptism will live with him forever.

Symbols of the Paschal Candle

1. + A central cross identifies it as the Christ candle, and its flame burns despite the death Christ endured. Five red nails with incense inserted into the center are placed at four endpoints of

the cross to represent Jesus’s wounds.

2. ΑΩ The letters alpha and omega, which begin and end the Greek alphabet, signify that God is the beginning and the ending of all things, and that the Word of God is present from creation until the end of time.

3. 2017 The current year is carved into the candle indicating that God is present not just as alpha and omega, at the beginning and end of time, but throughout history. God is present in our midst, as we are gathered around this candle and as we go forth in this "year of our Lord."