During The Great Vigil of Easter, we begin the service lighting the Paschal Candle. As the service states, this represents "The Light of Christ". We light a new flame each year, which gets at the newness we experience in the Resurrection.
By representing the Light of Christ, the Paschal Candle really represents the hope we have in the Resurrection. Aside from the Easter Season, we also light the candle for two other services: Baptism and Burials.
Baptism is about dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ Jesus, as Paul tells us. Thus Baptism, the way we enter the church, is really about our being bound into the Resurrected Life we have in Christ Jesus. The Paschal Candle reminds us what it is we are being baptized into, mainly the Resurrection. It is also why some churches will give the baptized (or their sponsors) a candle lit from the Paschal Candle.
Burial is really an Easter liturgy. It's not about mourning a death but celebrating the rise to new life in the Resurrection. The Paschal Candle is a sign of that hope in the Resurrection, just as the white pall is reminiscent of the white alb/robe/dress we wear in Baptism and in our Eucharistic Life (learn more from the Vestments Faith Fact).
When you see the Paschal Candle, look on it with hope in the Resurrection.
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| Me back in 2016 next to the Paschal Candle. |