Easter Eve

The First Eucharist of Easter

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

The Gathering of God’s People The Service of Light Eternal God, who made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of your one true light: set us aflame with the fire of your love, and bring us to the radiance of your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The new Paschal Candle is blessed Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all ages; to him be glory and power, through every age and for ever. Amen By his holy and glorious wounds may Christ our Lord guard and keep us. Amen The Paschal candle is lit and held aloft ; May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. Amen. The Light of Christ Thanks be to God The Paschal light is shared among the congregation from the Easter Candle

The Exsulset Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God’s throne! Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation! Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever! Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Saviour shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

The Lord be with you and also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give thanks and praise. It is right and good that with hearts and minds and voices we should praise you, Father almighty, the unseen God, through your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who has saved us by his death, paid the price of Adam’s sin, and reconciled us once again to you. Glory to you for ever For this is the Passover feast, when Christ, the true Lamb of God, is slain, whose blood consecrates the homes of all the faithful. Glory to you for ever This is the night when you first saved our ancestors, freeing Israel from her slavery and leading her safely through the sea. Glory to you for ever This is the night when Jesus Christ vanquished hell, broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. Glory to you for ever This is the night when all who believe in him are freed from sin, restored to grace and holiness, and share the victory of Christ. Glory to you for ever This is the night that gave us back what we had lost; beyond our deepest dreams you made even our sin a happy fault. Glory to you for ever Most blessed of all nights, Crowning glory of all feasts! Evil and hatred are put to flight and sin is washed away, lost innocence regained, and mourning turned to joy. Glory to you for ever Night truly blessed, when hatred is cast out, peace and justice find a home, and heaven is joined to earth and all creation reconciled to you. Glory to you for ever

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

Therefore, heavenly Father, in this our Easter joy accept our sacrifice of praise, your Church’s solemn offering. Grant that this Easter Candle may make our darkness light. For Christ the morning star has risen in glory; Christ is risen from the dead and his flame of love still burns within us! Christ sheds his peaceful light on all the world! Christ lives and reigns for ever and ever! Amen. Alleluia ! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Collect of Easter Eve Grant, Lord, that we who are baptised into the death of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ may continually put to death our evil desires and be buried with him; and that through the grave and gate of death we may pass to our joyful resurrection; through his merits, who died and was buried and rose again for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Proclaiming and Receiving the Word The Epistle Romans 6.3–11

A reading from the letter to the Romans Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

The Easter Gospel St. John 20.1–18 Hear the gospel of our Saviour Christ according to St. John, Chapter 20 beginning at verse 1. Glory to Christ our risen Saviour 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to Christ our risen Lord

The Sermon

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

The Coventry Litany of Reconciliation All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class; Father Forgive. The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own; Father Forgive. The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth; Father Forgive. Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others, Father Forgive. Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugees; Father Forgive. The greed which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children, Father Forgive. The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God, Father Forgive. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Renewal of Baptismal Vows The priest addresses the congregation. Brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, we remember that through the Paschal mystery we have died and been buried with him in baptism, so that we may rise with him to a new life within the family of his Church. Now that we have completed our observance of Lent, we affirm our allegiance to Christ, and our rejection of all that is evil. I ask you to profess the faith of the Church.

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

Therefore I ask these questions: Do you turn to Christ ? I turn to Christ. Do you repent of your sins ? I repent of my sins. Do you renounce evil ? I renounce evil. Do you believe and trust in God the Father? I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Do you believe and trust in God the Son? I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit? I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Commission Those who are baptised are called to worship and serve God. Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers? With the help of God, I will. Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? With the help of God, I will. Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ? With the help of God, I will. Will you seek and serve Christ in all people, loving your neighbour as yourself ? With the help of God, I will. Will you acknowledge Christ’s authority over human society, by prayer for the world and its leaders, by defending the weak, and by seeking peace and justice? With the help of God, I will. The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, that you may be rooted and grounded in love and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. Amen.

The Peace The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you’. They were glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia. The peace of the risen Christ be always with you. And also with you.

The Offertory Hymn Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour, first-begotten from the dead. Thou alone, our strong defender, liftest up thy people's head. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Jesus, true and living bread! Here our humblest homage pay we, here in loving reverence bow; here for faith's discernment pray we, lest we fail to know thee now. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou art here, we ask not how. Though the lowliest form doth veil thee as of old in Bethlehem, here as there thine angels hail thee, branch and flower of Jesse's stem. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! We in worship join with them. Paschal Lamb, thine offering, finished once for all when thou was slain, in its fullness undiminished shall for evermore remain. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Cleansing souls from every stain.

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

Life-imparting heavenly Manna, stricken Rock with streaming side, heaven and earth with loud hosanna worship thee, the Lamb who died. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Risen, ascended, glorified! Words: George Hugh Bourne (1840 - 1925) Music: St Helen, George C Martin (1844 - 1916)

Celebrating at the Lord’s Table At the Preparation of the Table At the eucharist we are with our crucified and risen Lord. We know that it was not only our ancestors, but we who were redeemed and brought forth from bondage to freedom, from mourning to feasting. We know that as he was with them in the upper room so our Lord is here with us now. Until the kingdom of God comes let us celebrate this feast.

The Taking of the Bread and Wine Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. In your love and mercy you have given us this bread to offer - fruit of the earth and work of humble hands. May it become for us the Body of Christ. Blessed be God for ever. Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. In your love and mercy you have given us this wine to offer - fruit of the vine and work of humble hands. May it become for us the Blood of Christ. Blessed be God for ever.

The Great Thanksgiving The Lord is here His Spirit is with us Lift up your hearts We lift them to the Lord Let us give thanks to the Lord our God It is right to give Him thanks and praise The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

Father, almighty and everliving God, at all times and in all places it is right to give you thanks and praise: But chiefly are we bound to praise you because you raised your son Jesus Christ gloriously from the dead. For he is the true paschal lamb who was offered for us, and has taken away the sin of the world. By his death he has destroyed death, and by his rising to life again he has restored to us everlasting life. And so with all your people, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, Father, the creator and sustainer of all things; you made us in your own image, male and female you created us; even when we turned away from you, you never ceased to care for us, but in your love and mercy you freed us from the slavery of sin, giving your only begotten Son to become man and suffer death on the cross to redeem us: he made there the one complete and all-sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world: he instituted, and in his holy Gospel commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death until he comes again. On the night that he was betrayed he took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper he took the cup; and when he had given thanks to you, he gave it to them, saying, Drink this, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. Therefore, Father, with this bread and this cup we do as Christ your Son commanded: we remember his passion and death, we celebrate his resurrection and ascension, and we look for the coming of his kingdom. Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; and as we eat and drink these holy gifts, grant by the power of the life-giving Spirit that we may be made one in your holy Church and partakers of the body and blood of your Son, that he may dwell in us and we in him: Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory are yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen. The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

The Breaking of the Bread The Bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ We being many are one body for we all share in the one bread.

Agnus Dei Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us Bread of life, you take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us Prince of peace, you take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Grant us peace. The Gifts of God for the people of God Jesus Christ is Holy, Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

The Great Silence At the Lamb’s high feast we sing Praise to our victorious King, Who hath washed us in the tide Flowing from his piercéd side; Praise we him, whose love divine Gives the guests his blood for wine, Gives his body for the feast, Love the victim, love the priest. Where the Paschal blood is poured, Death’s dark angel sheathes his sword; Israel’s hosts triumphant go Through the wave that drowns the foe. Christ the lamb whose blood was shed, Paschal victim, Paschal bread! With sincerity and love Eat we manna from above. Mighty victim from on high! Powers of hell beneath Thee lie; Death is broken in the fight, Thou hast brought us life and light: Now thy banner thou dost wave; conquering Satan and the grave See the prince of darkness quelled The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve

Heavens bright gates are open held. Paschal triumph, Paschal joy, only sin can this destroy; from sin’s death do thou set free souls re-born, dear Lord, in thee. Hymns of glory songs of praise, Father, unto thee we raise; Risen Lord, all praise to thee, Ever with the spirit be. 7th Century Latin Translated; Robert Campbell (1814 - 1868) Music: Salzburg, J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750)

Living God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection have delivered us from the power of our enemy: grant us so to die daily unto sin, that we may ever more live with him in the joy of his risen life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.

The Blessing Go in peace to love and serve the Risen Lord, Alleluia. In the name of Christ, Alleluia.

The Paschal Triduum - Easter Eve