“For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory for your people Israel.”
Luke 2: 30-32
“Luke 2:30-32 – A Light for Revelation: Reflecting on the Paschal Triduum in The Hague”
The Paschal Triduum this year was celebrated in the chapel that we as Servidoras have lived and worked in for eight and a half years, but in order to understand the significance of that moment I need to back-up a bit and explain our chapel.
We live in a cement jungle where the trees are buildings and streets. In October 2015, the community of St. Liduina of Schiedam in the Hague, Netherlands moved from the almost seaside parish where we had been for six years to the centre of the Hague, the seat of government of the Netherlands. The Hague is the home of the Dutch Royal family, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the Peace Palace. But it also houses “coffeeshops” (f.y.i.—a coffeeshop does not sell coffee in the Netherlands), numerous yoga/oriental spiritual academies, its own Redlight district, and the national museum of the Freemasonry. The city has about 560,000 inhabitants, half of whom are of foreign birth. We live 350 meters from the Parliament, and 100 meters from the first of a series of coffeeshops in our neighbourhood. In front of our chapel, there is a Thai restaurant with a wall-sized image of Buddha…and here the story begins.
“Lighting the Paschal Fire: A Unique Easter Vigil in The Hague”
On Saturday, March 30th, the night of the Easter Vigil this year, one of the sisters of the community went outside in the half-rainy evening to start a fire. There are two olive trees that someone planted long ago in the entrance to our chapel. Between the olive trees and with the intermittent water drops from heaven, Sr. Radost Krsva (Joy of the Cross in Slovakian) began the paschal fire in a small barbeque pit. I was not present, but I can imagine the confusion on the passersby’s’ faces. A small blue nun in the middle of the cement jungle was starting a fairly happy and big fire in the rain on the street. The bikers, pedestrians, truck drivers, and passengers in the cars probably passed by with a question mark on their faces. The diners in the Thai restaurant did not attempt to hide their curiosity, and Sister Radost told me that she looked up to see several tables of people looking overtly at her. She waved and smiled, and continued with her attempts to make a worthy fire for such a great night. The police strolled by at a certain point and asked what was going on. She simply said—I am making a fire for the Easter Vigil—which I imagine sounded a bit like Greek to people whose cultural experience of Easter is a free day on Monday and chocolate Easter eggs. The surprised officers wished her a happy Easter and continued on their way.
Forty-five minutes later, a group of about 40 people stood around the worthy fire prepared with so much diligence. Monseigneur Andrés Ferrada, secretary of the dicastery for the clergy in Rome who had come to the Netherlands to visit his family during Easter and asked to celebrate the Vigil in a chapel in our diocese, performed the ritual of the blessing of the Paschal candle in front of a restaurant covered with Buddha images. I stood next to him with the incense nails for the candle and the only thought that came into my head was: “Christ is the light for the nations.” We entered the chapel giving thanks to God for the light of Christ which shines especially on the most holy night of the Vigil of Vigils.
“Monseigneur Andrés Ferrada’s Visit: A Spanish Triduum Celebration in The Hague”
Our chapel is primarily an adoration chapel and we have few Masses there. This year because of Mon. Ferrada’s visit, we could offer all of the celebrations of the Triduum in Spanish and even Mass on Easter Monday for a diverse community of Colombians, Ecuadorians, Venezuelans, Chileans, Spaniards, etc. who live in the city or close by. With great apostolic zeal and pastoral attention, Mon. Ferrada made himself available for several hours of confession. Since we were in-charge of the preparations this year, we prepared the Monument for nocturnal adoration on Holy Thursday, our Lady of Sorrows where we prayed the Seven Sorrows of our Lady, and various transformations of the interior of the chapel to try and help the people live the Triduum spiritually and materially to the full. In a country where only about three percent of the Catholics practice their faith, it was refreshing to see so many families with children and young people come to live the liturgical experience of Christ’s last hours and glorious Resurrection.
“Missionary Moments: Bringing Christ’s Light to The Hague’s Streets”
Sometimes as a missionary, you can struggle with knowing how to communicate the light that comes from Christ. This night, as the fire symbolizing the light of Christ blazed on the corner of the street where our chapel is located, I thought—His light is being seen by all who pass by—or eat in the Thai restaurant. Maybe they will never enter the chapel, but at least they saw a group of people standing in the wet evening weather lighting a large candle to dispel the darkness that is not only nor primarily physical in our world.
To end, I want to relate what happened after the Paschal candle entered the chapel. A couple walking by on the street stopped to warm their hands by the fire. Sr. Radost was still there because she had to calm the blazing fire before entering the chapel for the rest of the Vigil. The couple, both Latinos, asked what was going on. She explained that it was the Easter Vigil and invited them to go inside to join. They were both Catholics who, according to their own words, had not entered a church in years. In God’s Providence, they happened to be passing by at the one moment of the year that we could have a fire outside our chapel. Something of the moment called to them, God in His infinite wisdom used the physical cold to draw them to hopefully have a deeper spiritual experience. They entered the chapel and participated in the entire Vigil.
“Miracles in The Netherlands: God’s Grace in the Cement Jungle of The Hague”
My time in the Netherlands has confirmed again and again that God is a God of miracles, His grace abounds where there seems to be no more possibility to hope. He is the one who calls, He is the one who saves, His light shone in the darkness of that night around the world, and He is the one who uses poor instruments to make fires and decorate chapels so that people can hopefully come closer to Him. May the fruits of this Vigil and all of the Vigils which took place around the world continue to ripen in the souls being transformed by grace.
Maria Nadiya Beznadiynych,
SSVM Missionary in the Hague
