Respectful ways to have a light at the Easter Vigil

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This Easter Vigil was the first one I’ve attended and it was truly a special and moving experience for me as I really hadn’t known what to expect. (I now have “Horse and chariot are cast into the sea” stuck in my head.) There was one technical problem I did have though in that, having a hearing loss, I use a missal to follow the readings. Darkness during the readings made that problematic even though I’m young with decent eyes. Adding into that how my parish skipped two of the readings and the responses after readings were in a separate pamphlet I was shifting into the spot of dim light I could read in, I was doubly thankful when light came on for the Gospel.

So that brings up a question of how others in a situation like mine deal with it? I’m pretty sure I’ll bring my phone in next time because that has a flightlight on it, but I’m also thinking of how that might affect things for others nearby if I did that. Also, is there a similar situation at Midnight Mass on Christmas? I don’t want to get caught off guard again. (At first when I saw baskets with candles I figured we’d be holding lighted candles in a lighted church.)
 
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In the several churches I have been in, we have never had candles at midnight Mass. I think it would be fine to use your phone. If you feel self-conscious about it, just let the usher know your circumstance. I’m glad you were moved by the Vigil. It is the best liturgy of the year. God Bless.
 
If they’re following the missal, the lights should come on after the priest or deacon has sung “Christ our Light” the third time as he processes in with the Easter candle. Not every parish follows that rubric, however, and and many (like yours) will leave the lights off throughout the readings until the singing of the Gloria.

In future, bring a small pocket flashlight to follow the readings. Or perhaps next year the lights will come on before the readings.

And unless something really wonky is going on, the regular lights should be on for masses on Christmas.
 
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Get a book light. We used them int he choir loft to sing and for me to play.
Energizer makes a good, inconspicuous one for $6.99 at Target. IT’s small enough to read a page well, but not big enough to bother anyone near to you. I’m not a fan of devices in church, but loads of people here think ti’s fine.
 
According to the rubrics of the current missal for the ordinary form, all the lights are supposed to be turned on when the pascal candle is placed in its stand. So the readings shouldn’t have been read in darkness.
 
pianistclare said:
Get a book light.
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Seconded. It’s the most practical solution, especially if you’re already holding a lit candle 😬 The OP didn’t mention that, but some parishes (mine included, and all those of my childhood) have the Easter Vigil congregation hold lit tapers until the lights come fully on. I can’t imagine juggling a candle, a missel or missalette and my phone as well. Of course, the light from all those candles might be enough to permit following the readings in print without an additional device. The fact that the OP did not mention the individual litcandles leads me to believe his/her parish does not do this.
 
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Goes to show how not following the rubrics for dramatic effect affects parishioners in ways we fail to take into consideration.

It also makes no sense. We walk into a darkened church with the Light of Christ, it’s proclaimed three times and then we sit in the dark for 40-60 minutes. There is no logical reason to do that. Logically, the Light has come in and so of course we should be able to see clearly. If the procession is done slowly, and the small tapers are lit in a timely fashion (this year our priest forgot to allow for that until he’d placed the Paschal Candle in the holder) the symbolism is clear by the time the third “Christ our Light” is chanted.
 
Gertabelle said:
they’re following the missal, the lights should come on after the priest or deacon has sung “Christ our Light” the third time as he processes in with the Easter candle. Not every parish follows that rubric, however, and and many (like yours) will leave the lights off throughout the readings until the singing of the Gloria.
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I personally love leaving the lights off until the Gloria.

There should be an option in the Missal to move the “Christ our Light” to right before the Gloria, then turn the lights on after the third one right before the Gloria.
 
There should be no problem with having a book light as long as you are careful about not flashing it around and shining it into other people’s eyes. Someone had a very bright booklight the other night at a TLM Tenebrae I was at and was not being careful about where they aimed it. After 10 minutes, the person in front of me had a word with the booklight user because the glaring light was flashing into her vision area, as well as mine and everybody else’s sitting around, as the booklight user wasn’t being careful to hold it facing down and away from others. The booklight user got up and left shortly after he was spoken to.
 
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UpUpAndAway said:
The fact that the OP did not mention the individual litcandles leads me to believe his/her parish does not do this.
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We lit candles at the beginning and then put 'em out before the readings.

A booklight is a decent idea to keep an eye out for.

And thanks about the Midnight Mass.
 
This is true. There were so many adults with candles downstairs, the church was fairly lit. People were reading the missallettes.

Our Archbishop has a PhD in Liturgy, and his instructions are to keep the small candles lit until the Gloria.
We do as we are told. I like it.
 
I wear glasses and have missal in one hand and candle in the other to read the responses with.
 
To balance the problem between sitting in total darkness and turning on all the light at the start of the Vigil with the Liturgy of the Light, my parish turns on the lights above the pews. The lights in the sanctuary remain off as well as two grand chandeliers above the pews, which are only lit on special occasions. At the start of the Gloria, the remaining lights are turned on. Thus all the people can follow along with the readings and psalms but the element of darkness still remains as the sanctuary is in the dark.

There is no similar situation at the Midnight Mass on Christmas. Even if for whatever reason, your parish decides to leave the lights off until the Gloria at the Mass, the Gloria precedes the readings, just like at a regular Sunday Mass.
 
You can subscribe to Magnificat electronic version and carry that on your phone or tablet for Mass.
 
Phemie said:
Goes to show how not following the rubrics for dramatic effect affects parishioners in ways we fail to take into consideration.
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The rubrics are not for dramatic effect, the rubrics of the Easter Vigil in particular are profound symbolism.
 
TheLittleLady said:
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Phemie:
Goes to show how not following the rubrics for dramatic effect affects parishioners in ways we fail to take into consideration.
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The rubrics are not for dramatic effect, the rubrics of the Easter Vigil in particular are profound symbolism.
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The rubrics of the Easter Vigil say that the lights come on before the Exsultet! That’s what the Sacramentary said back in 1975 and the instruction has not changed with the 2011 Roman Missal.
 
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