What You Need To Know

Daily Mass is celebrated: 
Monday through Saturday at 8 a.m.

The Sunday Mass schedule is:
Saturday at 5 p.m. in English
Sunday at 7:30 a.m. in English
Sunday at 9 a.m. in English
Sunday at 11 a.m. in English
Sunday at 1 p.m. in Spanish

OR Fr. George: [email protected]

Please contact the parish office at
949-494-9701 to schedule.

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St. Catherine of Siena, Laguna Beach

St. Catherine of Siena, Laguna Beach

We commit ourselves to: being a welcoming sanctuary and a place of prayer and worship.

Saint Anthony's daily calendar🙏
Our greetings from the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua.
Peace and all good❤
𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒚
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✝️ WHY WE SING “EXSULTET” 😳
THE MOST POWERFUL HYMN YOU’VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD
___________________
In the darkness of the Easter Vigil…

A candle is lit.
The church is still.

And then a voice breaks the silence:

👉 “Exsultet!”- Rejoice!

Why does the Church begin the greatest night of the year with this ancient chant?

Because this is not just a hymn.

👉 It is a proclamation of victory.

✝️ 1. IT IS THE CHURCH’S OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESURRECTION

The Exsultet is sung after the Paschal Candle enters.

Why?

Because:

👉 The Light has returned
👉 Christ has risen

And the Church cannot remain silent.

So she sings:

👉 “Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad!”

This is not music.

👉 It is announcement.

✝️ 2. IT CALLS ALL CREATION TO REJOICE

The Exsultet does something unusual.

It doesn’t just speak to people.

It calls:

Heaven

Earth

Angels

The entire universe

👉 To rejoice.

Why?

Because the Resurrection is not just about humans.

👉 It is cosmic.

Creation itself is being restored.

✝️ 3. IT PROCLAIMS THE “HAPPY FAULT” 😳

One of the most shocking lines says:

👉 “O happy fault… that earned for us so great a Redeemer!”

How can sin be “happy”?

It doesn’t mean sin is good.

👉 It means:

👉 God brought a greater good out of it.

Sin brought death

Christ brought salvation

So the fall of Adam…

👉 Became the doorway for divine mercy.

✝️ 4. IT EXPLAINS THE MEANING OF THE CANDLE

The Exsultet speaks about:

👉 The Paschal Candle

A flame that is shared but not diminished

A light that conquers darkness

This is Christ:

👉 Given to all… yet never reduced.

✝️ 5. IT CONNECTS PASSOVER TO CHRIST

The hymn recalls:

The Exodus from Egypt

The night of liberation

The passing over of death

Then reveals:

👉 Christ is the true Passover.

Pharaoh - defeated

Slavery - broken

Death - conquered

What happened in Egypt…

👉 Is fulfilled in Christ.

✝️ 6. IT IS SUNG AT NIGHT, FOR A REASON

The Resurrection is first announced:

👉 In the night.

Why?

Because:

👉 Light shines best in darkness.

The Exsultet is not sung in daylight celebration.

👉 It is sung in the tension between darkness and dawn.

✝️ 7. MOST PEOPLE HEAR IT… BUT DON’T REALIZE WHAT’S HAPPENING

Let’s be honest:

Many hear the Exsultet…

👉 But don’t understand it.

Yet in that moment:

👉 The Church is:

Proclaiming victory over death

Interpreting all of salvation history

Announcing the Resurrection before the Gospel is even read

✝️ FINAL MESSAGE

Why do we sing the Exsultet?

Because:

👉 Silence is no longer possible
👉 Darkness has been broken
👉 Christ is alive

This hymn is not decoration.

👉 It is the Church crying out:

👉 “He has risen, and everything has changed.”

Before the Resurrection Gospel is even proclaimed, the Church has already announced the victory, through a hymn older than most nations.

#CatholicsOnlineClass ✝️
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If God is the center of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts. – St. Vincent De Paul ... See MoreSee Less

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