Commentary on Liturgy and Readings
EASTER VIGIL
INTRODUCTION
Dear friends in Christ,
Good evening and welcome to this liturgical celebration.
In the Christian tradition, this night is the mother of all nights. We have prepared ourselves through 40 days of lent for this night. In the past three days we have accompanied the Lord in His passion and death. We are gathered here to celebrate His resurrection. Tonight is the climax of the history of redemption. It is this celebration that was the first to be celebrated in the early church. The liturgy of Easter vigil is full of symbols; it is a feast to all our senses, and we welcome you to taste it with your hearts.
The liturgy of tonight has four parts:
1. Liturgy of the Light,
2. Liturgy of the Word
3. Liturgy of Blessing of Water and Baptism
4. Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Now the lights in the church will be turned off to signify the darkness of the tomb, which also resembles the darkness of our own sins. This darkness will help us appreciate and welcome Christ the light. We invite the choir to sing the entrance hymn.
1. LITURGY OF THE LIGHT
Now we begin the first part of the liturgy of tonight – the Liturgy of the light. First the priest will bless the new fire, then he will go on to bless the candle by marking it with a cross, the letters: Alpha and Omega, and to write number of this year 2009 A.D. During the season of Easter, this candle will signify Christ the risen Lord.
(Action)
The celebrant will now go on to place 5 markers made of wax on the candle that signify the five wounds of Jesus. The risen Lord bore the marks of his wounds so that people like Thomas could touch them. We cannot separate the Resurrection from the Cross. The priest will go on to light the Paschal Candle.
(Action)
Procession
Now the priest and the ministers will come in procession to the altar. On his way to the altar the priest will sing three times the invocation: “Christ our Light” and we will respond: “Thanks be to God.” After we respond the 2nd time, we will all light our little candles. When the priest reaches the altar, we will listen to the Exsultet, standing, with candles lit. This is an ancient hymn that narrates to us the history of redemption, and sings the praises of the Candle that signifies the risen Lord.
2. LITURGY OF THE WORD
(Please put off your candles and be seated.) Dear friends in Christ, now we enter the 2nd part of our liturgy of tonight: The Liturgy of the Word. We have begun our solemn vigil. Let us now listen attentively to the word of God, recalling how he saved his people throughout history and, in fullness of time, sent his own Son to be our Redeemer.
We shall listen to four readings from the Old Testament, and two from the New Testament, including the Gospel. After every Old Testament reading there will be a responsorial psalm followed by a prayer. You will be requested to please stand during the prayers.
First Reading (Gen 1:1-2:3) from the book of Genesis narrates to us how created the world, and in a special way, human beings. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. He created us so that we can experience his love and respond to it.
Second Reading (Gen 22:1-18) again from the book of Genesis recounts the test of Abraham. He becomes our father in faith, because of his willingness to sacrifice that which he held dear. But in time, God makes it possible for Abraham to replace the object of sacrifice with a lamb. But God so loved the world that he offered his only son, to suffer and die.
Third Reading (Ex 14:15-15:1) We shall now listen to the third reading from the book of Exodus. God accompanies his people, under the guidance of Moses, to cross the sea on dry ground. This crossing by the people ofIsrael through the red sea becomes a precursor and a symbol of our own entry into new life through the waters of baptism. We remind ourselves of our own baptism and pray for those who will be baptised tonight.
Fourth Reading (Is 55:1-11) Water, again comes up as the motif of our fourth reading from the prophet Isaiah. Fire (of the sun) and Water (of the rain) sustains life on the face of the earth. These two objects are used as the central symbol of the liturgy tonight. Isaiah invites us to come into the presence of God and quench our spiritual thirst, so that we may have life – life in fullness.
Gloria: We will now solemnly sing the Gloria, during which the candles at the altar will be lit with the flame from the Paschal candle, and bells will chime. Thus we will acclaim Christ, the Risen Lord.
Fifth Reading (Romans 6:3-11) We have had four readings from the Old Testament. Now we will listen toSt Paul, who reminds us how we have become one with Christ through our own baptism. And now that Christ is risen we too will live for ever. Let this word of God bring us the promise of new life.
3. LITURGY OF BLESSING OF WATER AND BAPTISM
In the first part of our liturgy of tonight we blessed fire, and acclaimed the Risen Christ as the light of the world. Now we are going to bless water, which will be used for baptism. Water reminds us of purification of our sins, and promise of new life. We pray also for our friends who will be baptised tonight that the almighty Father may support them with his mercy and love.