Holy Saturday (Invocation of the Ancient)

On Holy Saturday I attended the Easter Vigil at Pax Christi Catholic Church in Lexington. Our church is currently too small to sustain a vigil so we got together and went to Pax Christi. Oddly enough for a Protestant, the most meaningful moment came when we began a part of the baptismal liturgy called the “Invocation of the Saints”. This is a moment when the Church asks for the Saints to intercede on behalf of the church and those about to be baptized. As the names of various Saints were read, I knew their stories. I love to study the lives of the Saints because I believe that we can all be encouraged by those who have led lives of holiness, sanctified to God. As the names were intoned I knew the stories of many of them, and the prayers they had prayed, and the memories of their lives paraded through my memory and I suddenly felt connected. These are my brother and sisters, these are my people and kindred, I remember them and we belong to one another. Suddenly I realized even more how ancient the church is and that I was a part of something extending through and across time.