EASTER VIGIL RECOLLECTION
PART I:
(1) Service of Light: Lighting of the Fire: Jesus as Light of the World; from darkness, LIGHT
The Lord is My Light (A Dwelling Place--St. Louis Jesuits)
The Lord is my light. The Lord is my shield. Praise the Lord and the love He reveals. Safe journey, shelter, and home, safe in the Lord alone. Hear, O Lord, my cry to you. Turn not away. For you are my life. Turn not your face from me. Seek your face to serve, O Lord. My heart's next to you. Your face, Lord, I seek. Hide not your face from me. Wait for the Lord and let your heart be strong. Wait for the Lord.
(2) Exultet: Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Jesus Christ is risen.
Every time I look at you I don't understand why you let the things you did get so out of hand. You'd have managed better if you'd it planned. Why'd you choose such a backward time and such a strange land? If you'd come today you would have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication. Don't get me wrong. Only want to know. Jesus Christ, who are you? What have you sacrificed? Jesus Christ, Superstar, do you think you're what they say you are? Tell me what you think about your friends at the top. Who'd you think besides yourself's the pick of the crop? Buddha was he where it's at? Is he where you are? Could Mohammed move a mountain or was that just p.r.? Did you mean to die like that? Was that a mistake, or did you know your messy death would be a record breaker? Don't get me wrong. Only want to know. Jesus Christ, who are you? What have you sacrificed? Jesus Christ, Superstar, do you think you're what they say you are?
(1) Genesis 1:1-2:2 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.
(2) Genesis 22:1-18 God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Ready!" 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 holocaust on a height that I will point out to you."
(3) Exodus 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 your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.
(4) Isaiah 54:5-14 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back.”
Though the Mountains May Fall (Earthen Vessels--St. Louis Jesuits)
Though the mountains may fall and the hills turn to dust, yet the love of the Lord will stand as a shelter for all who will call on His name. Sing the praise and the glory of God. Could the Lord ever leave you? Could the Lord forget His love? Though a mother forsake her child, He will not abandon you. Should you turn and forsake Him, He will gently call your name. Should you wander away from Him, He will always take you back. As He swore to your Fathers, when the flood destroyed the land. He will never forsake you. He will swear to you again.
(5) Isaiah 55:1-11 Come to me that you may have life. Come to the water. I will renew with you an everlasting covenant.
Come to the Water (Wood Hath Hope--St. Louis Jesuits)
O let all who thirst let them come to the water. And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord: without money without price. Why should you pay the price, except for the Lord? And let all who seek, let them come to the water. And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord: without money without strife. Why should you spend your life, except for the Lord? And let all who toil, let them come to the water. And let all who are weary, let them come to the Lord: all who labor, without rest. How can your soul find rest, except for the Lord? And let all the poor, let them come to the water. Bring the ones who are laden, bring them all to the Lord: bring the children without might. Easy the load and light: come to the Lord.
(6) Baruch 3:9-15.32-4:4 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 nether world? You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
My Son has Gone Away (Earthen Vessels--St. Louis Jesuits)
My son has gone away, left me, gone astray, but I have seen the way he went and I will bring him back. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how could you run away? Jerusalem, how long my son. I'll wait for you. I'll stay. Perhaps my son is weary and cold; perhaps he's tired and sad. Tonight I'll go and watch again and wait for his return. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how could you run away? Jerusalem, how long my son? I'll wait for you. I'll stay.
(7) Ezekiel 36:16-28 You shall lie in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Eagles Wings (Michael Crawford)
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, who abide in His shadow for life, say to the Lord: "My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!" And He will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand. You need not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; under his wings your refuge, his faithfulness your shield. For to His angels He's given a command to guard you in all of your ways; up on their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And He will raise you up…
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11 We know that Christ, once raised from the dead, will never die again; death has no power over him. His death was death to sin, once for all; his life is life for God. In the same way, you must consider yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
Blest Be the Lord (A Dwelling Place--St. Louis Jesuits)
Blest be the Lord: blest be the Lord, the God of mercy, the God who saves. I shall not fear the dark of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. He will release me from the nets of sinful men. He will protect me from their wicked hands. Beneath the shadow of His wings I will rejoice to find a dwelling place secure. I need not shrink before the terrors of the night, nor stand alone before the light of day. No harm shall come to me, no arrow strike me down, no evil settle in my soul. Although a thousand men have fallen at my side, I'll not be shaken with the Lord at hand. His faithful love is all the armor that I need to wage my battle with the foe.
Gospel: Luke 24:1-12 The men said to them: "Why do you search for the living One among the dead? He is not here; he has been raised up.