THE GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY
The Great Vigil of Easter is the culmination of the sacred celebration of Holy Week and the beginning of the celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. It is the climax of the Christian Year and unfolds in Scripture, psalm, Sacrament and liturgy the story of redemption. It begins in darkness and proceeds to a joyous burst of light. It begins in silence and proceeds to the glorious proclamation of the Paschal Alleluia.
It is the Christian Passover, for it celebrates the passing from death to life, from sin to grace. The story of the Exodus is central to the Liturgy of the
Word; Baptism is the means of the full realization of redemption; Holy Communion is the promise of the glory that shall be ours with our Risen Lord.
This liturgy moves with austere solemnity from one part to the next, as we watch and wait for the Lord’s Resurrection. It is not to be rushed through, for time is suspended as we recount the story of creation, celebrate the glory of the New Creation in the waters of Baptism, and profess our faith in the perfection of all creation in the fullness of time, in the glory of God.
Of all the celebrations of the Church Year, the Great Vigil of Easter is pre-eminent, for it alone vividly and dramatically portrays all that was, that is, and that ever shall be in the drama of our redemption:
Christ yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega. His are the times and ages and to him be glory and dominion through all ages of eternity. Amen.
THE LIGHTING OF THE PASCHAL CANDLE
Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
The Kindling of the New Fire
Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his victory over death.
Celebrant The Lord be with you.
People And with thy spirit.
Celebrant Let us pray.
O God, through your Son you have bestowed upon your people the brightness
of your light: Sanctify this new fire, and grant that in this Paschal feast we
may so burn with heavenly desires, that with pure minds we may attain to
the festival of everlasting light; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Blessing of the Paschal Candle
The Celebrant traces the cross, Alpha and Omega, and year into the Paschal Candle
using a stylus, saying,
Christ yesterday, and today, and forever; of all things; the Beginning and
the End. Alpha and Omega. His are the times and ages. To him be glory and
dominion through all ages of eternity. Amen.
The Celebrant then places five grains of incense, one each into the four points and center
of the traced cross on the Candle, saying,
Through his holy and glorious wounds may Christ the Lord guard and
preserve us.
A taper is lighted from the New Fire and the Celebrant lights the Paschal Candle, saying,
May the light of Christ gloriously rising dispel the darkness of our hearts
and minds.
The Procession
The Paschal Candle is then lighted from the newly kindled fire, and the Deacon, bearing the
Paschal Candle, leads the procession to the chancel, pausing three times and singing,
The Light of Christ!
People Thanks be to God.
Candles distributed to the congregation are lighted from the Paschal Candle at this time.
The Paschal Candle is placed in its stand
The Exsultet
The Deacon or Cantor, standing near the Candle, sings the Exsultet.
Rejoice now, heavenly hosts and choirs of angels, and let your trumpets shout Salvation for the victory of our mighty King. Rejoice and sing now, all the round earth, bright with a glorious splendor, for darkness has been vanquished by our eternal King.
Rejoice and be glad now, Mother Church, and let your holy courts, in radiant light, resound with the praises of your people. All you who stand near this marvelous and holy flame, pray with me to God the Almighty for the grace to sing the worthy praise of this great light; through Jesus Christ his Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
It is truly right and good, always and everywhere, with our whole heart and mind and voice, to praise you, the invisible, almighty, and eternal God, and your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; for he is the true Paschal Lamb, who at the feast of the Passover paid for us the debt of Adam’s sin, and by his blood delivered your faithful people. Now, therefore we sacrifice our Passover, in which for us the very Lamb of God is slain, by whose blood his faithful people are made holy.
This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land. This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life. This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.
How wonderful and beyond our knowing, O God, is your mercy and lovingkindness to us your children. Behold, what love he has bestowed upon us, who to redeem a servant, delivered up his only son. O blessed iniquity, for whose redemption such a price was paid by such a savior. How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is washed away. It restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to those who mourn. It casts out pride and hatred, and brings peace and concord. How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and we are reconciled to God.
Therefore, O Holy Father, accept the evening sacrifice of this lighted candle, which your holy Church makes before you, and offers to you by the hand of your servants, the work of the bees, your creatures. May it shine continually to drive away all darkness, as we celebrate the glad solemnity of our redemption.
May Christ, the Morning Star who knows no setting, find it ever burning – he who gives his light to all creation, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
It is customary that the Paschal Candle burn at all services from Easter Day through the
Day of Pentecost.
The Candles held by the congregation are now extinguished. The people sit.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
The Celebrant introduces the Scripture readings.
Let us hear the record of God’s saving deeds in history, how he saved his people in ages past; and let us pray that our God will bring each of us to the fullness of redemption.
Lesson 1: The Story of Creation
Genesis 1:1—2:4a
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
Reader The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
All stand as are able.
Celebrant Let us pray.
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him
who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The people sit
Lesson 2: Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea
Exodus 14:10—15:1
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were in great fear. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be still.” The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
Then the angel of God who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel; for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.
The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its wonted flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it, and the LORD routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw the great work
which the LORD did against the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and
the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day, you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Sermon
The Solemn Collects
Dear People of God: Our heavenly Father sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved; that all who believe in him might be delivered from the power of sin and death, and become heirs with him of everlasting life. We pray, therefore, for people everywhere according to their needs.
All kneel as are able. The biddings may be read by a Deacon or other person appointed. The Celebrant says the Collects.
Let us pray for the holy Catholic Church of Christ throughout the world:
For its unity in witness and service;
For all bishops and other ministers and the people whom they serve;
For Susan of San Diego, and all the people of this diocese;
For all Christians in this community;
For those about to be baptized.
That God will confirm his Church in faith, increase it in love, and preserve it
in peace.
Silence
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray for all nations and peoples of the earth, and for those in authority
among them:
For Donald, the President of the United States;
For the Congress and the Supreme Court;
For the Members and Representatives of the United Nations;
For all who serve the common good;
That by God’s help they may seek justice and truth, and live in peace and concord.
Silence
Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the
earth; that in tranquility your dominion may increase, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray for all who suffer and are afflicted in body or in mind:
For the hungry and the homeless, the destitute and the oppressed;
For the sick, the wounded, and the crippled;
For those in loneliness, fear, and anguish;
For those who face temptation, doubt, and despair;
For the sorrowful and bereaved;
For prisoners and captives, and those in mortal danger;
That God in his mercy will comfort and relieve them, and grant them the knowledge of his love, and stir up in us the will and patience to minister to their needs.
Silence
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working
of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being
raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all
things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
THE VENERATION OF THE CROSS
The People remain kneeling, as able.
The Holy Cross is processed up the aisle to the altar rail. The congregation reads the
parts in bold print.
Good Friday Anthems
We glory in your cross, O Lord,
and praise and glorify your holy resurrection; for by virtue of your
cross joy has come to the whole world.
May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his
countenance, and come to us.
Let your ways be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
We glory in your cross, O Lord, and praise and glorify your holy
resurrection; for by virtue of your cross joy has come to the whole world.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall
also reign with him.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.
O Savior of the world, who by thy cross and precious blood hast redeemed us:
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
Those wishing to venerate the cross may come forward, kneel or bow, and kiss the feet
of Jesus or the wood of the cross.
THE LITURGY OF THE PRE-SANCTIFIED
During the singing of the following Hymn, the Blessed Sacrament, consecrated Maundy
Thursday, is brought to the altar
Confession of Sin
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved thee with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in thy will, and walk in thy ways, to the glory of thy Name. Amen.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold the Lamb of God; behold him that taketh away the sins of the world.
Celebrant and People
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak
the word only, and my soul shall be healed
Communion of the People
The sanctuary party receives the Sacrament, then the people come forward.
All baptized Christians are welcome to receive Holy Communion. Those not receiving
Holy Communion are invited to come to the rail, cross their arms, and receive a blessing. The People receive Communion at the altar rail. The consecrated Bread is received in the hand, right hand placed on top of the left. To receive the consecrated Wine, grasp
only the base of the chalice and guide it to your lips. To receive by intinction, the Chalice Bearer will take the Host from your hand, dip it into the chalice, and hand it back to you to consume.
Post Communion Prayer
After Communion, the Celebrant says,
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion,
cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the
hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to
the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners
everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and Holy Spirit you live and
reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
No blessing or dismissal. The People leave in silence
Spiritual Communion
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of thy Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Lord, I cannot seek Thee on Thine altar throne,
Yet I may receive Thee, weary and alone.
When, before Thine altar, crowds adoring kneel,
There in very essence, thou didst come to heal.
Far from Priest and altar, Christ, to Thee I cry,
Come to me in spirit, let me feel Thee nigh.
In my silent worship, let me share the feast,
Be Thy love the altar, by Thyself the Priest. Amen.
O most blessed Saviour, in union with the faithful at every altar of
Thy Church where Thy blessed Body and Blood are being
offered to the Father, I desire to offer Thee praise and
thanksgiving, I present to Thee my soul and body with the
earnest wish that I may always be united to Thee. And since
I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally into my heart, I
unite myself to Thee and embrace Thee with all the
affections of my soul. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, and dwell in my heart.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
