(We present the entire liturgy)
FREE AND RISEN WITH CHRIST
1. I Was There
2. Liberated and Living in the Covenant of Love
Structure of the Rite.
The Easter Vigil rite harmoniously integrates everything in one continuous celebration that follows the normal structure of the Eucharistic celebration.
The Liturgy of the Light is the opening rite of the Mass.
The Liturgy of the Word is an expanded version of the usual Liturgy of the Word, so that we can hear about God liberating his people both in the Old and in the New Testaments; here the Gloria comes after the readings from the Old Testament and before those of the New Covenant to mark our entering into the definitive covenant of joy and life.
After the gospel and the homily comes the Baptismal Liturgy, everywhere with the blessing of water and the renewal of baptismal vows, and in parishes hopefully with an actual baptism. In the case of the baptism of an adult, if the celebrant has also helped in the preparation for baptism of the candidate, the law itself entitles him to confer also the rite of confirmation, without recourse to the bishop.
Finally comes the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Those participating in it are considered to have complied with the Office of Readings for Easter.
Introduction
As there is an introduction by the Presiding Celebrant for each part of tonight’s celebration, a suitable lay minister could give the general introduction at the beginning of the service.
1. I Was There
The reality of the whole Easter event is so tremendous and real for us that we must relive it as not just an event from the past but something present and real affecting us today. When Jesus died on the cross, I was there and looked up to him. When Jesus died on the cross and was buried, I was there and died and was buried with him, for I have been baptized in his death. When Jesus rose from the dead, I was there with him, for I rose with him to the new life of baptism. When Jesus, as the firstborn from the dead, went ahead of us to the promised land of heaven, I was there with him and I began, with the whole people of God, my journey to the promised land of heaven and I am still on the way in hope. Sisters and brothers, this is what we relive in this Easter celebration. It is our greatest celebration, for it is the celebration of life and joy.
2. Liberated for the Covenant of Love
Tonight we celebrate the capital, central event for Christianity: the liberation of God’s people from the slavery of sin, so that they can enter into the new and everlasting covenant whereby God, at his own initiative, binds his people to himself in a deep union of life and love. For God’s people in the Old Testament God saw the hardships they suffered in their slavery in Egypt, liberated them and made with them the covenant through Moses on Mount Sinai. For us Christians, God saw our slavery to sin and our inability to get rid of it. So he sent Jesus, his own Son, to make us free by his death on the cross on Mount Golgotha and by his resurrection. Now we are a free people, capable of love and service and justice. We celebrate this freedom and covenant this very night.
PART I: SERVICE OF THE LIGHT
Introduction
Dear People of God: At the beginning of the Jewish Easter celebration the youngest in the group asked: “Why is this night so different from all other nights?” and the head of the family answered: Tonight we celebrate because once we were slaves under the Pharaoh of Egypt, but the Lord God has set us free and led his people out of Egypt with joy.” When we Christians ask ourselves tonight: “Why celebrate in the dark of the night?” we answer, “We begin our celebration in the dark because we were once slaves in the darkness of sin, but the Lord Jesus has set us free by dying for us on the cross. But in the night of Easter he rose from the dead and brought us the life of his risen life. There he made us God’s new chosen people and became our light to lead us to the promised land.” This is why we light the fire and the Easter candle as we sing our praise and thanks to God.
Then follow the blessing of the fire, the lighting of the Easter candle, the procession into the church and the Exultant.
PART II. the LITURGY OF THE WORD
Introduction
We listen now to the Word of God with open ears and hearts and with great joy. God’s Word tonight speaks of the liberation of the people of God, old and new, and therefore how we too have been liberated by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Note. The seven Old Testament readings may be reduced to three. Exodus 14, on the Passover from Israel to the Promised Land, should always be among those selected.
First Reading: The Beautiful Poem of Creation
In this first act of salvation, God created order out of chaos and light out of darkness. He created man and woman in his own image and entrusted the earth and its resources to them to develop.
First reading: Genesis 1:1-2:2
God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very good
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water. God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day. God said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning came: the second day. God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good. God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.
God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day. God said, ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.’ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day. God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beast.’ And so it was. God made every kind of wild beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good. God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’ God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day. Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103(104):1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35
R. Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe! R.
You founded the earth on its base,
to stand firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak:
the waters stood higher than the mountains.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow in between the hills.
On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;
from the branches they sing their song. R.
From your dwelling you water the hills;
earth drinks its fill of your gift.
You make the grass grow for the cattle
and the plants to serve man’s needs.
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Second reading: Genesis 22:1-18
The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith
God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied. ‘Take your son,’ God said ‘your only child Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.’ Rising early next morning Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place God had pointed out to him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there; we will worship and come back to you.’
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded it on Isaac, and carried in his own hands the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together. Isaac spoke to his father Abraham, ‘Father’ he said. ‘Yes, my son’ he replied. ‘Look,’ he said ‘here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.’ Then the two of them went on together. When they arrived at the place God had pointed out to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.’ Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son. Abraham called this place ‘The Lord Provides’, and hence the saying today: On the mountain the Lord provides. The angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. ‘I swear by my own self – it is the Lord who speaks – because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 15(16):5,8-11
R. Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. R.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay. R.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever. R.
Third reading: Exodus 14:15-15:1
The sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’ Then the angel of God, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer the whole night long. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’ ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them. That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant. It was then that Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song in honour of the Lord:
Canticle: Exodus 15
Hymn of victory after crossing the Red Sea
R. I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!
The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation.
This is my God and I extol him,
my father’s God and I give him praise. R.
The Lord is a warrior! ‘The Lord’ is his name.
The chariots of Pharaoh he hurled into the sea,
the flower of his army is drowned in the sea.
The deeps hide them; they sank like a stone. R.
Your right hand, Lord, glorious in its power,
your right hand, Lord, has shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your glory you crushed the foe. R.
You will lead your people and plant them on your mountain,
the place, O Lord, where you have made your home,
the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made.
The Lord will reign for ever and ever. R.
Fourth reading: Isaiah 54:5-14
With everlasting love the Lord your redeemer has taken pity on you
Thus says the Lord:
Now your creator will be your husband,
his name, the Lord of Hosts;
your redeemer will be the Holy One of Israel,
he is called the God of the whole earth.
Yes, like a forsaken wife, distressed in spirit,
the Lord calls you back.
Does a man cast off the wife of his youth?
says your God.
I did forsake you for a brief moment,
but with great love will I take you back.
In excess of anger, for a moment
I hid my face from you.
But with everlasting love I have taken pity on you,
says the Lord, your redeemer.
I am now as I was in the days of Noah
when I swore that Noah’s waters
should never flood the world again.
So now I swear concerning my anger with you
and the threats I made against you;
for the mountains may depart,
the hills be shaken,
but my love for you will never leave you
and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken,
says the Lord who takes pity on you.
Unhappy creature, storm-tossed, disconsolate,
see, I will set your stones on carbuncles
and your foundations on sapphires.
I will make rubies your battlements,
your gates crystal,
and your entire wall precious stones.
Your sons will all be taught by the Lord.
The prosperity of your sons will be great.
You will be founded on integrity;
remote from oppression, you will have nothing to fear;
remote from terror, it will not approach you.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 29(30):2,4-6,11-13
R. I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,
restored me to life from those who sink into the grave. R.
Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,
give thanks to his holy name.
His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.
At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn. R.
The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:
O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.
Fifth reading: Isaiah 55:1-11
Come to me and your soul will live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you
Thus says the Lord:
Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;
though you have no money, come!
Buy corn without money, and eat,
and, at no cost, wine and milk.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
your wages on what fails to satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat
and rich food to enjoy.
Pay attention, come to me;
listen, and your soul will live.
With you I will make an everlasting covenant
out of the favours promised to David.
See, I have made of you a witness to the peoples,
a leader and a master of the nations.
See, you will summon a nation you never knew,
those unknown will come hurrying to you,
for the sake of the Lord your God,
of the Holy One of Israel who will glorify you.
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.
Canticle: Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
R. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation. R.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name. R.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. R.
Sixth reading: Baruch 3:9-15,32-4:4
In the radiance of the Lord, make your way to light
Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life;
hear, and learn what knowledge means.
Why, Israel, why are you in the country of your enemies,
growing older and older in an alien land,
sharing defilement with the dead,
reckoned with those who go to Sheol?
Because you have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have lived in peace for ever.
Learn where knowledge is, where strength,
where understanding, and so learn
where length of days is, where life,
where the light of the eyes and where peace.
But who has found out where she lives,
who has entered her treasure house?
But the One who knows all knows her,
he has grasped her with his own intellect,
he has set the earth firm for ever
and filled it with four-footed beasts.
He sends the light – and it goes,
he recalls it – and trembling it obeys;
the stars shine joyfully at their set times:
when he calls them, they answer, ‘Here we are’;
they gladly shine for their creator.
It is he who is our God,
no other can compare with him.
He has grasped the whole way of knowledge,
and confided it to his servant Jacob,
to Israel his well-beloved;
so causing her to appear on earth
and move among men.
This is the book of the commandments of God,
the Law that stands for ever;
those who keep her live,
those who desert her die.
Turn back, Jacob, seize her,
in her radiance make your way to light:
do not yield your glory to another,
your privilege to a people not your own.
Israel, blessed are we:
what pleases God has been revealed to us.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18(19):8-11
R. You have the message of eternal life, O Lord.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple. R.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes. R.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
Seventh reading: Ezekiel 36:16-17,18-28
I shall pour clean water over you and I shall give you a new heart
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own land, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions. I then discharged my fury at them because of the blood they shed in their land and the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them in foreign countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. And now they have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, “These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land.” ‘But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone. ‘And so, say to the House of Israel, “The Lord says this: I am not doing this for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. ‘“I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.”’
If there is no baptism, Psalm 41(42) is used.
If there is a baptism, either Isaiah 12 or Psalm 50(51) MUST be used instead.
The psalms are listed below. Isaiah 12 is shown above, after the Fifth Reading.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 41(42):2-3,5,42:3-4
R. Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God? R.
These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell. R.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God. R.
Introduction before the Gloria and the Opening Prayer.
The candles on the altar are now lit for we enter the New Testament, in which Christ is our light.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that we may follow wholeheartedly Christ, our light and life (pause)
Lord our God,
you have brightened this night with the glorious light of Christ.
Make us rise with him to a new life
of faithful love in the new covenant
and renew us in mind and body
that we may be your loyal sons and daughters
and give you wholehearted service,
together with your risen Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First New Testament Reading: Risen with Christ
We become part of the death and resurrection of Christ through baptism; there we have taken up the struggle against sin and begun to live the life of Christ.
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.
Responsorial Psalm: 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
R. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.” R.
The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD. R.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes. R.
Gospel: The Lord Is Risen!
God reveals himself in power in Jesus’ resurrection. It is a new creation of the world, beginning, like the first creation, on the first day. The women, the disciples and we, the disciples today, are now witnesses to the Risen Christ.
Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Commentary
“There is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.” So begins a Christian classic, the homily on Holy Saturday found in the Liturgy of the Hours. Holy Saturday is a day of quiet, a day of mourning for the Christ who will rise from the dead only on the morrow. Liturgically, today everything moves toward this evening’s Easter vigil and the first Mass of the resurrection. There is no other liturgy celebrated today.
But this is not a vacuum, a day of spiritual emptiness. It is quiet time, something that we all need, a time of reflection in our very busy lives. In the aforementioned ancient homily, the unknown author speaks of Christ today going to awaken our first parents who live in darkness and the shadow of death. He goes to release them from their captivity and share with them the new life in God, the first fruit of redemption.
Today we stand in waiting for that Easter triumph that is about to break forth. We relive the painful experience of the cross in a spirit of quiet reflection. We need Holy Saturday and should not see it solely as a preparation day. Christ today touches those who have gone before us. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling place is prepared.
Lord, instill within us a deep love for all that you have done for us.
PART III. THE LITURGY OF BAPTISM
Note. If the baptismal font is to be blessed, whether there are actual baptisms or not, the Litany of the Saints is sung or prayed. If the font is not to be blessed, there is a blessing of holy water, followed by the renewal of baptismal vows.
Introduction
Renewal of Baptismal Vows
Brothers and sisters in Christ in this beautiful night we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By dying he destroyed death for us, by rising he has affirmed our life. In baptism we have died with him to sin but we have not yet won all our struggles against evil and God’s life in us has not yet come to full bloom. This is why the Church invites us again to reject what is against the covenant of love and to promise, as we did in baptism, to live according to its law of service and goodness. We renew our baptismal promises.
And so:
Do you reject…
Do you believe…
Intercessions
(Where the Litany of the Saints has been used at baptism and/or the blessing of the font, it serves as General Intercessions. Otherwise:)
Let us pray to God our Father, who has raised Jesus from the dead, and let us say:
R/ Lord raise us up with your Son.
For those who have been baptized tonight and for all Christians, that they may remain faithful to their baptismal promises in all circumstances of life, let us pray: R/
For all who suffer and for the dying that their hope and strength may be Jesus, who, through and beyond death, has built a road to new life, let us pray: R/
For all those whose experiences have discouraged or disillusioned them in life, that they may not remain obsessed by the past but look forward to the future with its new prospects and opportunities, let us pray: R/
For all those who have committed themselves to serve the needs of others, that they may keep faith in a better world in which peace and justice are not empty words, let us pray: R/
For all of us gathered here in the joy of Easter, that we may be happy and jovial people who know that God loves us with an enduring love and that we may radiate this love on one another, let us pray: R/
Our God and Father, you call us your sons and daughters and that is what we really are. Make us gratefully cooperate with you in the works of your creating and serving love and to look forward in hope to the happiness without end promised us in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer Over the Gifts
Lord, God of life,
you gather us around this table
to celebrate the Easter meal
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept with this bread and this wine
the prayers and offerings of your people.
Make our faith firm,
that your Son may continue
to live in us and to lead us to you,
our living and loving God for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let our joy brim over in this Eucharist as we give thanks to the Father for having saved us by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Invitation to the Our Father
Sons and daughters of the Father through baptism,
let the joy of the Spirit cry out in us
in Jesus’ own words. R/ Our Father…
Invitation to Communion
This is our risen Lord, who said
and says again to us this night:
“I am the bread of life.
Those who eat my flesh and drink by blood
have eternal life and I live in them.”
With this faith, come to the table of the Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we ask, O Lord,
the prayers of your people
with the sacrificial offerings,
that what has begun in the paschal mysteries
may, by the working of your power,
bring us to the healing of eternity.
Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: 1 Corinthians 5: 7-8
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed;
therefore let as keep the feast
with the unleavened bread of purity and truth, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Pour out on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love,
and in your kindness make those you have nourished
by this paschal Sacrament
one in mind and heart.
Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, our Father,
with joy we have shared
in the Easter meal of your Son.
Through his body and blood you have assured us
that we are destined for eternal life
and that this life is already stirring in us.
Keep filling us with the Spirit of your love,
that we may live in the joy of your one people,
one in heart and mind,
and living for one another and for you,
our God for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
What an experience of joy
if we have really relived tonight
what we have become through Jesus’ resurrection.
May we keep living in the hope and happiness
of a people that is risen above sin and evil
and live for all that is good and beautiful.
May the almighty and loving God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God!