Ex-Cotabato bishop at Easter vigil: Light of Christ dispels darkness

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MANILA, Philippines — The light of the Paschal candle, which symbolizes the risen Christ, dispels the darkness that people experience, former Cotabato Archbishop Cardinal Orlando Quevedo said in the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening, April 24.

Quevedo described the Easter Vigil Mass as "the most beautiful liturgical celebration in the whole year" and "the mother of all vigils,” citing St. Augustine, saying that it centered on three core images: darkness, light, and salvation.

According to Quevedo, the darkness he refers to is seen in the "rising prices" of goods, the "oil crisis," and the "rampant corruption" that allows hunger to stalk the land.

He noted that the poor and needy suffer most acutely under these shadows, where high prices make basic necessities nearly unaffordable.

“From the darkness of sin, in different forms, the darkness of rising prices, the darkness of oil crisis, the darkness of rampant corruption, the darkness that the poor and the needy suffer through. Hunger stalks the land because of high prices,” Quevedo said.

Light of salvation and liberation. In contrast to these social ills, Quevedo pointed to the Paschal candle and the "new fire" of the Holy Spirit as symbols of salvation and liberation.

“The Holy Spirit symbolized by the new fire in the Paschal Candle, the light of Christ,” he said.

Co-celebrants of the Mass were Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula and Apostolic Nuncio to Manila Archbishop Charles Brown.

The Easter Vigil Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening, being the first celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During this Mass, Advincula and the bishops blessed baptismal water and lit the Paschal candle. The Mass also saw nine scripture readings before Quevedo’s homily.