Sometimes, the story of our Holy Faith is told through the most basic of practices. It is by the law of our prayer that we derive the law of faith (lex orandi, lex credendi). One ancient custom was to begin the day at sundown. This is actually biblical. Take a look at the first couple chapters of Genesis for the story of creation. “and there was evening and morning.”
The day actually started at the sunset. As the sun dies, a new day is born. This ancient custom foreshadowed the coming of Christ. Christ, the Son, died and went into the tomb; by death he trampled death. Thus there was a new day in the Church. A day when man could have a perfect reconciliation with God, the death of Jesus, the last bloody sacrifice. And then, before twilight in the morning, the sky is at its darkest. When the Apostles were lost and without hope, it seemed that everything was at its darkest, but then the Son rose from the dead. The Sun rises from the ground.
Every sunset should remind us of Christ’s death and how that brings us to new life, and then look at the sunrise and remember Christ’s resurrection. All things of nature point towards God, since He is the one who fashioned it.
