On special family days you bring out the best stuff -- decorations, place settings, and clothes that don't get used on other days of the year. We keep some treasures hidden away and bring them out for only the most important occasions. If you miss the celebration for some reason, you won't enjoy the treats it brings for another year.

The "exsultet," or "the Easter proclamation," is one of those special treasures owned by our church family. We bring it out once a year, at our most important celebration, the Easter Vigil. If you miss the Vigil, you don't get to enjoy it till next year.

The exsultet proclaims the meaning of Easter. It was written to be sung by a deacon at the beginning of the Easter Vigil. It comes during the first part of the service, the fire rite. The Vigil begins outdoors where a new fire is blessed and the new Easter candle is lit for the first time. Then the assembly processes into the church, carrying tapers lit from the same fire and proclaiming, "Christ our light! Thanks be to God!"

Once inside, in a church aglow with new light, we hear the meaning of this night in the exsultet.

First the proclamation calls on the angels, the earth, and the church to rejoice. "Jesus Christ, our King is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!" Then it begins to sound like a preface. "IT is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices we should praise the unseen God."

Finally the exsultet tells us how special this night is: "This is our passover feast, when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain." The Easter Vigil celebrates the Christian passover, complete with banquet, freedom from slavery, light from darkness, cleansing from sin, restoration of holiness, and resurrection from death.

No wonder the exsultet proclaims the sin of Adam to be a "happy fault," "a necessary sin." Because of Adam's fall, we have been restored at Easter through Christ.

The exsultet may be sung by someone other than the deacon, if he lacks the skills to sing or if you lack a deacon. It has a long and short form. The people may sing acclamations along the way. It proclaims the meaning of Easter, so we save it for this, the single most important night of the Christian year.

(This bulletin insert originally appeared in MODERN LITURGY, copyright (c) 1996, Resource Publications, Inc. It may not be reproduced without permission. Send permission requests to info@rpinet.com)

(Paul Turner, pastor of St. John Regis Parish in Kansas City, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University.)