This Is The Night

On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle . . . the work of bees and your servants’ hands . . . for it is fed by melting wax, drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious . . . Though [the bee] be tiny in the smallness of her body, she revolves prodigious knowledge in her tiny breast, weak in force but forceful in abilities. She, having determined the change of season, when winter has deposited the hoary frost and then the moderating climate of springtime has swept away the glacial feebleness, she immediately feels the need to come forth to her work.¹

In springtime, the senses of the bee prompt it to its work, pollinating the world and producing honey and wax. Similarly, at Eastertime, Christians celebrate liturgies full of sensory experiences that remind them of a new springtime in their faith. The Exsultet, from which this description of the magnificence of bees is drawn, is one of the first liturgical hymns heard in the Easter season. Situated at the beginning of the Easter Vigil, it is the linchpin between the commemoration of Christ’s death on Good Friday and the celebration of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Like the change of the season for the bee, the Exsultet calls those who hear it to spread the joy of Easter and renew the face of the world.

Heard only once a year, the Exsultet is rich in sensory imagery. In the context of the Vigil, it serves to evoke strong feelings in the faithful that in this moment the “things of heaven are wed to those of earth.” But while the themes of the hymn have remained consistent throughout its history, the ways it engages the senses have changed over time, and the actual performance practice has varied widely—sometimes in ways that remain obscure to scholars.²

Lighting the Easter fire. Ricardo77 / CC BY-SA

The Easter Vigil

Just as the bee’s year is divided into seasons, so is the Christian year: Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, and Ordinary Time. Easter, the high point of the Christian year, is the annual celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection, which Christians believe healed a world broken by human sin. The season begins at sundown on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, when Christians gather in anticipation of the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb on Easter morning.³

The Vigil begins with the blessing of large fire from which incense and a central candle—called the paschal candle—are lit.⁴ The candle is then carried into the pitch-dark church, traditionally by a deacon, where the flame is then passed to tapers held by the faithful who have been waiting in darkness.⁵ Once the procession reaches the altar area, the candle is placed in a stand, incensed, and the Exsultet is sung as the hymn blessing the paschal candle.⁶

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The Themes

The Exsultet is a Christological hymn, meaning that it explores the nature and role of Christ, often using language taken from the early ecumenical councils. Much of the text revolves around imagery of light and darkness, specifically through the metaphor of Christ as the light of the world, as at the closing of the piece, which references his title as the Morning Star.⁷

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star: the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son, who, coming back from death’s domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity . . .

The Exsultet also endeavors to show how Christ fulfills the Old Testament promises, echoing stories that are read later in the Vigil.⁸ The connection between the light of Christ and the Old Testament is furthered by the identification of the paschal candle with the pillar of fire that traveled with the Israelites through the wilderness. This pillar of fire was God’s presence with the Israelites, just as the paschal candle is Christ’s presence in the church.

This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin.

The poetic richness of the text pulls on the sensory experiences that the faithful are simultaneously experiencing. The reflection on light and darkness in the text is on dramatic display in the church as it is filled with light passed from candle to candle, mirrored in the text itself: “a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light.” The light of the paschal candle, which the Exsultet blesses, truly becomes in the liturgy itself the candle that “overcome[s] the darkness of this night.”

Individual candles lit from the paschal candle. RaquelSchaar / CC BY-SA.

The Text

The text of the Exsultet is composed of two distinct parts that emerged at different times. The first and oldest part is the prologue, which concludes with the phrase: “. . . that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises.” This part was composed in the 4^th or 5^th century as a blessing of the paschal candle. The second part, the preface, begins next with the phrase “The Lord be with you . . .”⁹ This was added to the prologue sometime in the sixth century. Its literary style and melody are based on the preface that begins the Eucharistic prayer, the part of Mass that consecrates the bread and wine and makes them the body and blood of Christ.

At an early date, multiple forms of the prologue and preface sprung up across Western Europe, often named for the areas where they were used: the Old Spanish, Ambrosian (Milan), Franco-Roman (Roman Gaul), and Beneventan (Southern Lombardy). While the practice of blessing the paschal candle was widespread, it only made its way to Rome in the 7^th century. The Church adopted the Franco-Roman text, which became the basis for the text of the Exsultet used in the Catholic Church today.¹⁰

There have always been several textual forms of the Exsultet—that has never been controversial. But some textual elements included in the Exsultet have been controversial, like the description of Adam’s fall into sin as “necessary.” This passage, referred to by its Latin incipit O certe necessarium, has been seen by some as theologically problematic, and was frequently excised in the medieval period.¹¹ While it is included in the current form of the Exsultet used in the Catholic Church, it has been excised in some Protestant traditions that use the hymn.

The paschal candle on the altar. Jordiferrer / CC BY-SA.

Other passages have been included, removed, and restored for less controversial reasons. One of the more creative and intriguing parts of the Exsultet that connects directly to the sensory experience of the performance is the praise of the bees who made the wax from which the paschal candle is created. Some, including St. Jerome, believed it was not worthy of inclusion at the Vigil, and it was removed from some medieval manuscripts. The following text is taken from the ancient Franco-Roman form of the Exsultet.¹²

Paralleled in the current Catholic text: It is nourished by the melting waxes which mother bee fashioned into the substance of this precious lamp . . .

Excised from the current Catholic text: . . . The bee surpasses all the other living things that are subject to [humanity]. Though she be tiny in the smallness of her body, she revolves prodigious knowledge in her tiny breast, weak in force but forceful in abilities. She, having determined the change of season, when winter has deposited the hoary frost and then the moderating climate of springtime has swept away the glacial feebleness, she immediately feels the need to come forth to her work. And scattered through the fields stretching their wings a little, they settle on their balanced legs. Part of them gather blossoms with their mouth and burdened with their provisions return to the hive. And there others with inestimable skill construct cells with clinging glue; others press together the flowing honey; others turn flowers into wax; others mold the newborn with the mouth; others seal up the nectar collected form the flowers. O truly marvelous bee, whose sex is not violated by the male nor shattered by childbearing, neither do children destroy her chastity. Just as holy Mary conceived as a virgin, gave birth as a virgin and remained a virgin . . .

The Exsultet waxes poetic, comparing the bees directly to Mary. But the mention of the different functions of the bees also seems to harken to the different functions of the faithful within the Church. Here the Exsultet appears to be paralleling 1 Corinthians 12:7-11:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Thus, the praise of the bees appears as a metaphor for the Church and the people within it. This also explains the Marian conclusion to the praise of the bees, since Mary is often seen as a model for the Church.

This section was omitted from the 1570 version of the Exsultet used in the Catholic Church, and has often been omitted in the Protestant traditions as well. The bees were not mentioned in the Catholic Church’s 1973 English translation of the Exsultet either. They were restored in the 2011 translation, but only in two explicit references to the candle itself. Given that the Exsultet is only heard once a year, however, restorations like this can still feel “new” even ten years later, encouraging reflection.

On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering, the work of bees and of your servants’ hands, an evening sacrifice of praise, this gift from your most holy Church. But now we know the praises of this pillar, which glowing fire ignites for God’s honor, a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light, for it is fed by melting wax, drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious.

The Music

Just as there were differences in the text of the Exsultet between regions, the melodies also differed in early practice. The oldest preserved melody for the Exsultet appears in Beneventan sources from the 10^th century, and a different melody appears in Roman sources in the 12^th century. As a result, scholars talk about two main melodic traditions: the Beneventan and the Roman. The melody of the Exsultet used in the Catholic Church today is the old Roman melody.¹³ The recordings of the Exsultet used in this piece are an English adaptation of the Franco-Roman text set to the Roman melody. Unlike the text, however, the melody has not been substantially altered since the 12^th century, and it has always been intended for one unaccompanied voice.

A comparison of the Roman melody to the Beneventan one shows the noble simplicity, and in my estimation the haunting beauty, of the Roman melody, which mirrors the flickering of the candlelight in the church.

Exsultet opening passage, Roman melody

Exsultet opening passage, Beneventan melody¹⁴

The Art

In some performances centuries ago, the sensory experience of the Exsultet was furthered by the use of elaborately illuminated scrolls on which the text and chant were written. But how, exactly, is not easy for historians to determine.

To begin with, their use was limited primarily to Southern Italy, and the extant sources date from the 10^th to the 14^th century. It is likely, however, that the use of scrolls predates these sources. Based on additions to some of these scrolls, it is clear that they were used beyond the 14^th century, and, in some cases, into the 18^th and 19^th centuries.¹⁵

Exsultet scroll. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Pisa. Photo credit: Steven Bartlett Travels (used with permission)

The Exsultet scrolls often incorporated images from the hymn itself, and usually focused on the harrowing of hell, the crucifixion, the parting of the Red Sea, and the story of Adam and Eve. In the scrolls, Christ was often depicted enthroned or was represented as a lamb. Secular and ecclesial leaders were frequently depicted, as well as beehives with swarming bees. Many of the scrolls also included images of the blessing of the paschal candle and even the performance of the Exsultet itself.

Exsultet scroll from the second half of the 15th century. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Pisa. Federigo Federighi / CC BY-SA.

Despite these illustrations, the layout of the Exsultet rolls only adds to scholars’ confusion over their use and purpose in performance. In most of them, the pictures were reversed with respect to the music and text. Thus, to the person singing the Exsultet, the images appeared upside-down. Because of this, many scholars have argued that the images were meant to be viewed by the congregation, and that the Exsultet scrolls were unrolled down the front of the ambo (lectern) so that they could be viewed by the congregation. In fact, this is often how the performance of the Exsultet is depicted in the scrolls themselves.

Performing the Exsultet at the ambo. Public domain, Bari, Archivio Capitolare, Exultet MS. 1 XI secolo.

It is not at all clear, though, that this was the actual reason why the scrolls were illuminated and why the images were reversed. At the point in the service when the scrolls were used, the worship space would have been in darkness, so the images would have been difficult to see. But perhaps more importantly, the pictures on the scrolls are not placed in close proximity to the corresponding text in the Exsultet.¹⁶

However these scrolls were used in the past, they clearly served to further the vivid sensory experience of the Exsultet in some way. Some modern churches have even tried to create their own homemade scrolls, something that is surely worthy of emulation. But the struggle to understand the original purpose and use of the scrolls is an example of how challenging it can be to reconstruct past experiences, even highly-ritualized ones, let alone recreate them today.

Modern Practice

In many ways, the function and role of the Exsultet has not changed in the history of the denominations that use it, though the text, chant, and performance have. The Exsultet still evokes strong sensory experiences, and its performance is attentive to this, but it remains a living, changeable practice. Perhaps the largest change to the Exsultet in the modern period has been who can sing it. Traditionally the singing of the Exsultet has been reserved to the deacon. While the deacon remains the normative singer of the Exsultet, a priest or a lay cantor (in that order of preference) may now sing it, though with part of the text omitted when sung by a layperson. And, as has always been the case, there continues to be regional variation. In some places, the Exsultet is sung to a different musical setting than that outlined in the liturgical books—and some of those settings even include congregational acclamations, further altering the sensory experience through participation.¹⁷

The richness of the text, its musical performance, and its sheer length, alongside the powerful imagery conveyed by the spreading of the light from the paschal candle throughout the dark church, gives the Exsultet a solemnity that is almost ritually unparalleled in Western liturgical tradition. But the sensory experience of the Exsultet has always been changing and changeable, and this year, it will change again. Many Catholics, Episcopalians, Anglicans, and Lutherans will not be able to experience the Easter Vigil safely at all. Millions of others will watch the Vigil online, with the words and music of the Exsultet streaming into homes around the world: “let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness.”

The author and editor would like to thank Liz Bologna for creating the recordings used in this piece, and Father Rick Ricard of Blessed Sacrament Parish for allowing the use of St. Bernard Church in Rockville as a recording space.

1. Adapted from Thomas Forrest Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 37-38.
2. In present-day practice, some form of the Exsultet is used in Roman Catholic, Episcopalian/Anglican, and Lutheran Easter Vigil services.
3. This practice emerged as early as the 4^th century, when Spanish pilgrim Egeria notes that Christians gathered in vigil at the place of Christ’s tomb reading scripture, singing, and baptizing converts. It would eventually solidify into the Easter Vigil that is celebrated today by many denominations. For more on Egeria and her diary, see Anne McGowan and Paul F. Bradshaw, eds., The Pilgrimage of Egeria: A New Translation of the Itinerarium Egeriae with Introduction and Commentary (Collegeville: Liturgical Press Academic, 2018).
4. This section specifically describes the beginning of the Easter Vigil in a Roman Catholic Church. The specific words, music, and motions vary between denominations, but the general order and thematic emphasis of this section of the service are fairly similar.
5. The procession is accompanied by the deacon and congregation singing “The Light of Christ.”
6. Contrary to popular depiction, the use of incense is not prescribed or even common in regular Sunday Masses in Catholic churches. The heavy use of incense in the Easter Vigil further differentiates it from normal practice. This video is a good example of the celebration of the whole Easter Vigil in a Roman Catholic setting.
7. Other moments that extend this theme include Christ’s death as the forgiveness of our sins [2:15], Christ as the paschal Lamb [2:35], Christ’s harrowing of hell [3:56], and his resurrection [5:05].
8. Specific moments in the hymn that reference these promises: Christ heals the fall of Adam and Eve [2:15 and 4:41], he represents the Passover lamb [2:35], and he saves the world just as God saved the Israelites during the Exodus and their passage through the Red Sea [2:55].
9. In the recording, you will note that this phrase is absent, picking up again with “Lift up your hearts.” There are certain passages of the Exsultet that can only be sung by a priest or deacon. When it is sung by a layperson, those phrases are excluded.[1:24]
10. Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, see Ch. 3.
11. This passage can be heard at [4:41] in the main recording.
12. Adapted from Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, 38–39.
13. Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, see Ch. 4.
14. This recording uses Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation, which did not become standard till centuries after this melody was used. But this melody would also never have been recorded by a laywoman in her home office in the middle of a pandemic, so hopefully listeners will excuse the anachronistic pronunciation.
15. In antiquity, scrolls were the central way of preserving a text, but by the fourth century C.E. the codex had become more common. From that point onward, scrolls used outside the home were reserved for important texts like charters, diplomas, maps, and chronicles. As a result, the scroll came to be seen as a ceremonial medium, reserved for important texts and functioning as a visible symbol of the status of the owner. Among the clergy, only bishops, popes, and abbots could have afforded to have them. Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, see Ch. 5.
16. Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, 199–206.
17. Besides this change, and omitting the long praise of the bees, in the liturgical reforms made after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the concluding blessings for secular and ecclesial authorities as well as donors found in the medieval sources has also been excised. Undoubtedly, the goal was to focus the Exsultet back on its ritual function, i.e. as a blessing of the paschal candle, but in its excision, some of the global significance of the hymn is lost. Text in Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, 39–40.