The Easter Vigil at the House of Studies
April 12, 2012
Beginning with the blessing of the Paschal Fire in the cloister garden of the priory, the celebration of the Easter Vigil at the Dominican House of Studies was markedly well-attended this year. Drawing on the contrast between light and darkness, the principal celebrant of the mass, Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P., preached a striking homily on the Resurrection and the status of the Catholic Church today. The photographs from the mass reveal this marked contrast between light and darkness. One moment peculiar to the Dominican celebration of the Easter Vigil occurs at the beginning of the Gloria, when the friars shed their cappas, as the candles and lights of the chapel are lit. The music of the Mass proved to be among the best of the Triduum and included Christo Resurgenti by Francois Couperin and Robert White’s Regina Caeli. The mass setting sung by the Schola Cantorum was Mass IX from the Dominican Graduale. The Schola Cantorum is led by Fr. James Moore, O.P., who accompanied the group on organ. Photos from the liturgy may be viewed here:
