Holy Saturday
~*~ The Easter Vigil ~*~4-4-26
Easter Vigil in the Holy Night
First Part:
The Solemn Beginning of the Vigil
The blessing of the fire and preparation of the candle
Procession
Exult, let them exult,
the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our
mighty King's triumph!
Be glad, let earth be glad,
as glory floods her,
ablaze with light from
her eternal King,
let all corners of the
earth be glad,
knowing an end
to gloom and darkness.
Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the
lightning of his glory,
let this holy building
shake with joy,
filled with the mighty
voices of the peoples.
(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory
of this holy light,
invoke with me,
I ask you,
the mercy of God
almighty,that he,
who has been
pleased to number me,
though unworthy,
among the Levites,
may pour into me
his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this
candle's perfect praises.)
(V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.)
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks
to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.
It is truly right and just,
with ardent
love of mind and heart
and with devoted
service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible,
the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord,
his Son, his Only Begotten.
Who for our sake paid Adam's
debt to the eternal Father,
and, pouring out his
own dear Blood,
wiped clean
the record of our
ancient sinfulness.
These, then, are the
feasts of Passover,
in which is
slain the Lamb,
the one true Lamb,
whose Blood
anoints the
doorposts of believers.
This is the night, when
once you led our forebears,
Israel's children,
from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass
dry-shod through the Red Sea.
This is the night that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.
This is the night that even now,
throughout the world,
sets Christian believers
apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
leading them to grace
and joining them
to his holy ones.
This is the night, when Christ
broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious
from the underworld.
Our birth would have
been no gain,
had we not
been redeemed.
O wonder of your
humble care for us!
O love, O charity
beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave
you gave away your Son!
O truly necessary
sin of Adam,
destroyed completely
by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault that earned
so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know
the time and hour
when Christ rose
from the underworld!
This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall
be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness.
The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness,
washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen,
and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred,
fosters concord,
and brings down the mighty.
On this, your night of grace,
O holy Father,
accept this candle,
a solemn offering,
the work of bees
and of your servants’ hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your
most holy Church.
But now we know
the praises of this pillar,
which glowing fire ignites
for God's honor,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed
by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.
O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven
are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.
Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you
that this candle,
hallowed to the
honor of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the
darkness of this night.
Receive it as a
pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle
with the lights of heaven.
May this flame
be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star
who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back
from death's domain,
has shed his peaceful light
on humanity,
and lives and reigns
for ever and ever.
R. Amen
In the beginning,
when God created
the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a
formless wasteland,
and darkness
covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind
swept over the waters.
Then God said,
"Let there be light,"
and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated
the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day,"
and the darkness
he called "night."
Thus evening came,
and morning followed
—the first day.
Then God said,
"Let there be a dome
in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body
of water from the other."
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated
the water above the dome
from the water below it.
God called the
dome "the sky."
Evening came,
and morning followed
—the second day.
Then God said,
so that the dry land
may appear."
And so it happened:
the water under the sky
was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land "the earth, "
and the basin of the water
he called "the sea."
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
that bears fruit with its seed in it."
And so it happened:
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
"Let there be lights
in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
and serve as luminaries
in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth."
And so it happened:
and he made the stars.
and to separate
the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
And so it happened:
God created the
great sea monsters
and let the birds
multiply on the earth."
Then God said,
cattle, creeping things,
and wild animals of all kinds."
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals,
all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of
creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
and all the creatures
that crawl on the ground."
God blessed them, saying:
and all the living things
that move on the earth."
God also said:
And so it happened.
God looked at everything
he had made,
and he found it very good.
Evening came,
and morning followed
—the sixth day.
Thus the heavens
and the earth
and all their array
were completed.
Since on the seventh
day God was finished
with the work
he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day
from all the work he had undertaken.
The Word of the Lord,
~Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35
2nd Reading Genesis 22:1-18
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
Then God said:
"Take your son Isaac, your only one,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you."
Early the next morning Abraham
took with him his son Isaac and two of
and with the wood that he had cut for
set out for the place of which God had
On the third day Abraham got sight of
Then he said to his servants:
"Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for
and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke
"Father!" Isaac said.
"Yes, son," he replied.
Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the
but where is the sheep for the holocaust?"
"Son," Abraham answered,
"God himself will provide the sheep for the
Then the two continued going forward.
When they came to the place of which God
Abraham built an altar there and arranged
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to
But the LORD's messenger called to him
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said
"Do not do the least thing to him. I know
~Thanks be to God
OR Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am, " he replied. Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one,
whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a
on a height that I will point out to you."
When they came to the place of which
Then he reached out and took the
knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called
to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am," he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy,"
said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me
your own beloved son." As Abraham
looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns
in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust
in place of his son. Again the LORD's messenger called
to Abraham from heaven and said: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your
beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands
of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations
of the earth shall find blessing--
all this because you obeyed my command."
~Thanks be to God
3rd Reading Ex 14:15—15:1
The LORD said to Moses,
"Why are you crying out to me?
Tell the Israelites to go forward.
And you, lift up your staff and,
with hand outstretched over the sea,
split the sea in two,
that the Israelites may
pass through it on dry land.
But I will make the
Egyptians so obstinate
that they will
go in after them.
Then I will receive glory
through Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots
and charioteers.
The Egyptians shall
know that I am the LORD,
when I receive
glory through Pharaoh
and his chariots
and charioteers."
The angel of God,
who had been
leading Israel's camp,
now moved and
went around behind them.
The column of cloud also,
leaving the front,
took up its place behind them,
so that it came between
the camp of the Egyptians
and that of Israel.
But the cloud now became dark,
and thus the night passed
without the rival camps
coming any closer together
all night long.
Then Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea,
and the LORD swept the sea
with a strong east wind
throughout the night
and so turned
it into dry land.
When the water
was thus divided,
the Israelites marched into
the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall
to their right and to their left.
The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh's horses
and chariots and
charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch
just before dawn
the LORD cast through
the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a
glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged
their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians
sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the LORD
was fighting for them
against the Egyptians.
Then the LORD told Moses,
"Stretch out your
hand over the sea,
that the water may
flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots
and their charioteers."
So Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea
flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were
fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the LORD hurled
them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots
and the charioteers
of Pharaoh's whole army
which had followed
the Israelites into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the Israelites
had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall
to their right and to their left.
Thus the LORD
saved Israel on that day
from the power
of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the
Egyptians lying dead
on the seashore
and beheld the great
power that the LORD
had shown against the Egyptians,
they feared the LORD
and believed in him
and in his servant Moses.
Then Moses and the Israelites
sang this song to the LORD:
I will sing to the LORD,
for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot
he has cast into the sea.
The Word of the Lord,
~Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18
R. Let us sing to the Lord;
he has covered himself in glory.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot
he has cast into the sea.
My strength and my
courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
He is my God, I praise him;
the God of my father, I extol him.
R. Let us sing to the Lord;
he has covered himself in glory.
The LORD is a warrior,
LORD is his name!
Pharaoh's chariots
and army he hurled into the sea;
the elite of his officers
were submerged in the Red Sea.
R. Let us sing to the Lord;
he has covered himself in glory.
The flood waters covered them,
they sank into the
depths like a stone.
Your right hand,
O LORD, magnificent in power,
your right hand,
O LORD, has shattered the enemy.
R. Let us sing to the Lord;
he has covered himself in glory.
You brought in the
people you redeemed
and planted them on the
mountain of your inheritance
the place where
you made your seat, O LORD,
the sanctuary, LORD,
which your hands established.
The LORD shall reign forever and ever.
R. Let us sing to the Lord;
he has covered himself in glory.
4th Reading Isaiah 54:5-14
The One who has become your husband
is your Maker; his name is the LORD of hosts; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, a wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; but with enduring love I take pity on you, says the LORD, your redeemer. This is for me like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should never again deluge the earth; so I have sworn not to be angry with you, or to rebuke you. Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shakenyou,
my love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you. O afflicted one, storm-battered and
unconsoled, I lay your pavements in carnelians, and your foundations in sapphires; I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the
LORD, and great shall be the peace of your
children. In justice shall you be established, far from the fear of oppression, where destruction cannot come near
The Word of the Lord, ~Thanks be to God
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have
rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the
netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going
down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have
rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful
ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have
rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have
rescued me.
5th Reading Is 55:1-11
Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying
and without cost, drink wine and milk!
Why spend your
money for what is not bread,
your wages for
what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully, listen,
that you may have life.
I will renew with you
the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
As I made him a
witness to the peoples,
a leader and
commander of nations,
so shall you summon
a nation you knew not,
and nations that knew
you not shall run to you,
because of the LORD,
your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
who has glorified you.
Seek the LORD
while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked
man his thoughts;
let him turn to
the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous
in forgiving.
For my thoughts
are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,
says the LORD.
As high as the heavens
are above the earth,
so high are my ways
above your ways
and my thoughts
above your thoughts.
For just as from
the heavens the
rain and snow
come down and
do not return there
till they have
watered the earth,
making it fertile
and fruitful, giving seed
to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not
return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
The Word of the Lord,
~Thanks be to God
6th Reading Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:
listen, and know prudence!
How is it, Israel,
that you are in the land of your foes,
grown old in a foreign land,
defiled with the dead,
accounted with those destined for the
netherworld?
You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have dwelt in enduring peace.
Learn where prudence is,
where strength, where understanding;
that you may know also
where are length of days, and life,
where light of the eyes, and peace.
Who has found the place of wisdom,
who has entered into her treasuries?
The One who knows all things knows her;
he has probed her by his knowledge--
The One who established the earth for
all time,
and filled it with four-footed beasts;
he who dismisses the light, and it departs,
calls it, and it obeys him trembling;
before whom the stars at their posts
shine and rejoice;
when he calls them, they answer, "Here
we are!"
shining with joy for their Maker.
Such is our God;
no other is to be compared to him:
he has traced out the whole way of
understanding,
and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
to Israel, his beloved son.
Since then she has appeared on earth,
and moved among people.
She is the book of the precepts of God,
the law that endures forever;
all who cling to her will live,
but those will die who forsake her.
Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:
walk by her light toward splendor.
Give not your glory to another,
your privileges to an alien race.
Blessed are we, O Israel;
for what pleases God is known to us!
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in
their land,
they defiled it by their conduct and deeds.
Therefore I poured out my fury upon them
because of the blood that they poured out o
n the ground,
and because they defiled it with idols.
I scattered them among the nations,
dispersing them over foreign lands;
according to their conduct and deeds I judged
them.
But when they came among the nation
s wherever they came,
they served to profane my holy name,
because it was said of them: "These are the
people of the LORD,
yet they had to leave their land."
So I have relented because of my holy name
which the house of Israel profaned
among the nations where they came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus
says the Lord GOD:
Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel,
but for the sake of my holy name, which you
profaned among the nations to which you came.
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD,
says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit
within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live
by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
The Word of the Lord,
~Thanks be to God
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GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord, Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
For you alone are the Holy One,
Epistle Rom 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 ourselves
as being dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord,
~Thanks be to God
Gospel Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see
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
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
They approached, embraced his feet, and
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”
The Gospel of the Lord,
~ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
Dearly beloved…. … all his merciful help.
The Rite of Baptism:
Blessing of the
Baptismal Water
Renunciation of Sin
and Profession of Faith
Baptism renewal
Celebration of Confirmation
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Eucharistic Acclamations:
R: Blessed be God forever
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
R: May the Lord accept the sacrifice
at your hands for the
praise and glory of his name,
for our good
and the good of all His holy Church
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Sign of Peace
R: And with your Spirit
Communion Song:
Spiritual Communion:
My Jesus, I believe that you are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love you above all things,
and I desire to receive you into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
Come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
And unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
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