On Holy Night, as we hold our lighted candles, we are like those servants who keep watch awaiting their master's return. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes” (Luke 12:37). “We will therefore commemorate the Lord’s Passover by listening to his word and celebrating his mysteries; thus we will have the hope of sharing in his triumph over

"Death" (Office of Light). Our vigil is nourished by faith in the resurrection, which grounds the hope that he will invite us to take our place at the table and come to serve us. The fulfillment of this hope begins in the Eucharistic liturgy, which makes us participants in the banquet of the Kingdom, already present and yet not yet fully realized. "To hope is something very concrete: it is to believe that God makes us capable of performing eternal acts" (Adrien Candiard), beginning with our liturgical action on this Easter night, "the mother of all holy vigils" (Saint Augustine). Witnesses to God's presence in our world, which he illuminates in the glory of his resurrection, we will be able to "arrive, with a pure heart, at the feasts of eternal light." Eternal life begins now; it continues throughout all ages. Alleluia!

David Gabillet

Editor-in-Chief of Magnificat