Paschal Vigil
First Lesson
Genesis 1:1-31; 2:1-2
In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved over the water. And God said: Be light made. And light was made. And God saw the light that it was good: and He divided the light from the darkness. And He called the light Day, and the darkness Night: and there was evening and morning, one day. And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament from those that were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven: and the evening and morning were the second day.
God also said: Let the waters that are un-der the heaven be gathered together into one place; and let the dry land appear. And it was so done. And God called the dry land Earth: and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And He said: Let the earth bring forth his green herb, after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done. And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as tieldeth seed according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And the evening and morning were the third day. And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.: to shine in the firmament of heaven. and to give light to the earth. And it was so done. And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars. And He set them in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to divide the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And the evening and morning were the fourth day.
God also said: Let het waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven. And God created the great whales, and every living thing and moving creature which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And He blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth. And the eve-ning and the morning were the fifth day. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so done. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And He said: Let us make man to His own image and likeness: and let him have do-minion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. And God created man to His own image: to the im-age of God He created him, male and fe-male He created them. And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth. And God said: Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in them-selves seed of their own kind to be your meat: and to all the beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was so done. And God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day. So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made: and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Second Lesson
Exodus 14:24-31; 15:1
In those days, it came to pass in the morning watch, and behold the Lord looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire, and of the cloud, slew their host: and overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from Israel: for the Lord fighteth for them against us. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, that the waters may com again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the Egyptians were fleeing away the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves. And the waters re-turned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after them: neither did there so much as one of them remain. But the children of Israel marched through the midst of the sea upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and the left: and the Lord delivered Israel on that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the mighty hand of the Lord had used against them: and the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses His servant. Then Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to the Lord, and said:
Canticle
Exodus 15:1-2
Let us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously honored: the horse and the rider He hath thrown into the sea: He has become my Helper and Protector unto salvation. ℣. He is my God, and I will honor Him: the God of my father, and I will extol Him. ℣. He is the Lord that destroys wars: the Lord is His Name.
Third Lesson
Isaias 4:2-6
In that day the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high, and a great joy to them that shall have escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that every one that shall be left in Sion, and that shall remain in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is written in life in Jerusalem. If the Lord shall wash away the filth of the daughters of Sion, and shall wash away the blood of Jerusalem out of the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every place of mount Sion, and where he is called upon, a cloud by day, and a smoke and the brightness of a flaming fire in the night: for over all the glory shall be a protection. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a security and cov-ert from the whirlwind, and from rain.
Second Canticle
Exodus 15:1-2
A vineyard was made on a hill in a fruitful place. ℣. And he fenced it in, and picked the stones out of it, and planted it with the choicest vines, and built a tower in the midst thereof. ℣. And set up a winepress therein: for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel.
Fourth Lesson
Deuteronomy. 31:22-30
In those days: Moses therefore wrote the canticle, and taught it to the children of Israel. And the Lord commanded Josue the son of Nun, and said: Take courage, and be valiant: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with thee. Therefore after Moses had wrote the words of this law in a volume, and finished it: he commanded the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, say-ing: Take this book, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God: that it may be there for a testi-mony against thee. For I know thy obsti-nacy, and thy most stiff neck. While I am yet living, and going in with you, you have always been rebellious against the Lord: how much more when I shall be dead? Gather unto me all the ancients of your tribes, and your doctors, and I will speak these words in their hearing, and will call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that, after my death, you will do wickedly, and will quickly turn aside form the way that I have commanded you: and evils shall come upon you in the latter times, when you shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him by the works of your hands. Moses therefore spoke, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel, the words of this canticle, and finished it even to the end:
Third Canticle
Deuteronomy 32:1-4
Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak, let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth. ℣. Let my doctrine gather as the rain, let my speech distill as the dew, as a shower upon the herb. ℣. And as drops upon the grass: because I will invoke the name of the Lord. ℣. Give ye magnificence to our God: The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments. ℣. God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right.
Collect
O God, who dost illuminate this most holy night by the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, preserve in the new children of Thy family the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given; that renewed in body and mind, they may render to Thee a pure service. Through our Lord.
Epistle
Colossians 3:1-4
Brethren, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God: mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ should appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with Him in glory.
Alleluia
Ps. 117:1; 116:1-2
Give praise to the Lord for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever. ℣. O praise the Lord, all ye nations, and praise Him all ye people. For His mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth forever.
Gospel
Matthew 28:1-7
And in the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake. For an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone and sat upon it: and his countenance was as lightening and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him the guards were struck with terror and became as dead men. And the Angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified: He is not here: for His is risen, as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye His disciples that He is risen: and be-hold He will go before you into Galilee: there you shall see Him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.
Secret
Accept, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the prayers of Thy people together with the sacrifice they offer: that what has begun by the Paschal Mysteries, may by Thine arrangement result in our eternal healing. Through our Lord. Amen.
Postcommunion
Pour forth upon us, O Lord, the spirit of Thy love: that those whose hunger Thou hast satisfied with the Sacraments of Easter may in Thy kindness be one in heart. Through our Lord.