'Dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness'

If we had not descended into the darkness of the Passion, into the depths of Good Friday and the dread of the tomb; if we were not living, too, through the shadow cast by the pandemic, then we would not have heard the Exsultet, the exultant Easter poem-prayer, in quite the same way: sung unforgettably by Fr. Mark, joy filling the chapel of Fisher House, the Catholic student chaplaincy of the University of Cambridge, and, through the speakers, filling the room where I sat in south London.

Joy, paradoxical joy for this sorrowful world: the tomb does not have the last word!  Death has no dominion!

This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness. 

The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty. 

[...]  

O truly blessed night, 
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human. 

Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honour of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.
Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death's domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.

Wishing all readers, and any who happen upon this blog, a very happy Easter.

P. S.  The Easter Vigil Mass from Fisher House can be watched here.  The Exsultet begins about ten minutes into the video.