Today we relive the glorious events of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Saviour was crucified between two condemned, died and - after three days - rose again. How thankful are we to have such a great Messiah.
Jesus Christ has conquered sin, death. and the devil. He has emptied hell.
The Son of God loves us and works untiringly to bring each one safely into heaven. Alleluia!
Let us pray for all who have ever gone before, for all peoples now, and for all who will ever exist in the future until the Last Day: that they may attain everlasting life with our resurrected Saviour forever.
Let us remember that Jesus Christ literally carried each one of us on His Shoulders as He bore His Cross. Every step He took, He knew that if He did not reach the end of His journey, we would not be saved. Every weight of the wood upon His Shoulder told Him that if our sins were not washed away, we would be unable to enter Heaven. Every time He fell and the wood pressed heavily, He realised that each one of us depended on Him for an eternity of happiness.
What a warrior! What a King! What a Lord we hail as Son of God. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for carrying Your cross to the end. Thank You for bearing the weight of the sins of humankind upon Your Shoulders. Thank You for coming to earth to save us.
Priest: "The Easter Vigil begins in darkness. The darkness of the tomb is split open as the Light of the world resurrects and pours life-giving light to the whole world.
O God, grant that our hearts may be purified by your beloved Son Jesus Christ.
We offer You our love and praise in honour of so glorious a gift to our world,
Amen."
EASTER VIGIL READING
Mark 16
The Resurrection
16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
The Great Commission
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
BAPTISM
If you have been baptized, here quietly renew your promises to Jesus to continue practising holiness in your life, and to be faithful to Him.
If you have been baptized, and fallen away from your faith, why then, just renew your baptismal promises and start all over again.
If you have never been baptized, why not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour?
He truly is the Son of God, and is waiting for you. Invite joy into your life and accept Him. Seek baptism.
Here is a chapel for accepting Jesus Christ into your life:
LITANY OF THE SAINTS
Priest: "Let us thank God for the holy men and women who have gone before us, showing that it is possible to reach the holiness God desires for us. Let us remember our holy ones."
Congregation: "We remember you, our holy family in heaven."
BLESSING OF THE WATER
If you do not have holy water, pour some water into a bowl. Sprinkle a little salt in it if you have some. Ask the Lord to bless the water and make it holy. Now you have your own holy water!
The priest blesses the water, and sprinkles the congregation with it.
We remember that Jesus is the Water of Life and brings us to holiness through baptism.
WE NOW REJECT OUR ANCIENT ENEMY SATAN
Priest: "Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God's children?'
Congregation: "I do."
Priest: "Do you reject the glamour of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin?"
Congregation: "I do."
Priest: "Do you reject satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?"
Congregation: "I do."
WORDS OF COMFORT
"After the crucifixion, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was very busy after He gave His Spirit back to God the Father. The gospels tell us how the earth shook with earthquake, rocks split. The veil in the Jerusalem Temple split in two. Tombs opened and many saints resurrected, went into the Holy City and appeared to many people. Jesus' sacrifice and death had won redemption and resurrection for humanity. What a great gift!
Thereafter, Jesus descended to the holding place of the dead. He met with all who had passed from the time of our earliest ancestors. They were now freed from the grip of death, and the way of heaven was opened to humanity. The great King Jesus had faced satan, whose power was now vanquished.
After three days, the Power of God reanimated the dead human Body of the Son of God, Christ resurrected and appeared to many. These are wonderful occurrences. We are blessed to have access to Heaven, whereas before Christ died we were condemned through justice to live in eternal banishment from the Luminous Face of God.
Let us rejoice at our wondrous fate as the human children of God.
Do you wish to turn to God to bring areas of your life to be washed in the precious Blood of the Saviour? If so, perhaps you will find peace and comfort from visiting the Chapel of Repentance.
If you wish to accept Jesus Christ in your life, visit the following prayer chapel,
THE EUCHARIST
Priest; "As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke it. He gave it to His disciples, saying; "Take all you, and eat. This is My Body, which is broken for you."
Congregation; "Lord Jesus, You are the Bread of Life."
Priest; "At the end of supper, Jesus took the cup. He gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take, all of you, and drink; this is My Blood of the new covenant, Which is shed for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of Me." '
Congregation; "Lord Jesus, You are the cup of life, the wine blessed for our salvation."
[Receive communion. If you are unable to attend Holy Mass, receive Jesus spiritually within your heart and soul now. Spend some time in prayer. Let us pray for all affected by the Coronavirus].
LORD'S PRAYER
Priest; "Let us now pray the Lord's prayer in the words Jesus gave us."
Priest and Congregation;
'Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come
Thy Will be done
One earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
Our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us,
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen."
Congregation; "Lord Jesus, You are the Bread of Life."
Priest; "At the end of supper, Jesus took the cup. He gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take, all of you, and drink; this is My Blood of the new covenant, Which is shed for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of Me." '
Congregation; "Lord Jesus, You are the cup of life, the wine blessed for our salvation."
[Receive communion. If you are unable to attend Holy Mass, receive Jesus spiritually within your heart and soul now. Spend some time in prayer. Let us pray for all affected by the Coronavirus].
LORD'S PRAYER
Priest; "Let us now pray the Lord's prayer in the words Jesus gave us."
Priest and Congregation;
'Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come
Thy Will be done
One earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
Our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us,
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen."
We rejoice in His Resurrection. This Easter the tomb is robbed of death, and is empty!
There is Light in the midst of our darkness!
We have been fed by the Word and given new life in the waters of baptism.
We have been given renewed life in the Eucharist, and receive life from Jesus our Lord.
We ask for Your blessing as we go forth to witness to the world the truth that JESUS CHRIST IS THE RISEN SON OF GOD!"
Congregation; "Amen. ALLELUIA!"
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