In the sanctuary of Sacred Heart Church in Newton Center (as in other sanctuaries) stands a splendid Paschal Candle. As I gazed upon it Sunday, while the first two readings were proclaimed, I remembered Pope Benedict's words at this year's Easter Vigil in Saint Peter's Basilica:

Dear friends, as I conclude, I would like to add one more thought about light and illumination. On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle. This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light. Secondly, we should remember that the light of the candle is a fire. Fire is the power that shapes the world, the force of transformation. And fire gives warmth. Here too the mystery of Christ is made newly visible. Christ, the light, is fire, flame, burning up evil and so reshaping both the world and ourselves. Whoever is close to me is close to the fire, as Jesus is reported by Origen to have said. And this fire is both heat and light: not a cold light, but one through which Gods warmth and goodness reach down to us.