Office of Readings
Invitatory
Psalm 100
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
God, + come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Alternate Hymns
This is the day, true day of God,
serene with clear and holy light,
on which the sacred blood has washed
both shame and guilt from all the world.
In this the lost regain their faith,
the blind receive the gift of light;
can one remain in anxious fear
who sees forgiveness for the thief?
The angels wonder at this work,
they see the body wracked with pain,
they see a thief draw near to Christ
to pluck the fruit of blessed life.
How wondrous is the mystery:
that flesh should cleanse the sins of flesh,
to take away the guilt of all
and wash the world of foul decay.
What could be more sublime than this:
that guilt should seek the gift of grace,
that charity should cast out fear,
and death should render life renewed?
O Jesus, be for mind and heart
our everlasting paschal joy
and gather us, reborn by grace,
to share your triumphs evermore.
To you, Lord Jesus, glory be,
who shine in vict’ry over death,
with God the Father, ever blest,
and loving Spirit, ever one. Amen.
Tune: EISENACH, 8 8 8 8
Music: Johann Hermann Schein, 1586-1630
or Mode III, melody 56; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983*
Text: Hic est dies verus Dei, Saint Ambrose, 340-397, © 2023 ICEL
Continue with the Psalmody
Or:
Rejoice, O heaven, from on high
and clap your hands, both earth and sea,
for after death upon the Cross
Christ rose again and gave us life.
The accepted time has now returned:
we see the day of saving pow’r,
on which the blood shed by the Lamb
restored the darkened world to light.
His death brought agony to death
and absolution from all sin;
his might and pow’r remain unharmed:
the vanquished gave us victory.
This was the foretaste of our hope,
so that the faithful might believe
they too may rise again one day
to gain the crown of blessed life.
And filled with joy at such a gift,
now, therefore, let us praise with zeal
our bright, resplendent Paschal Lamb
for giving us such wondrous goods.
O Jesus, be for mind and heart
our everlasting paschal joy
and gather us, reborn by grace,
to share your triumphs evermore.
To you, Lord Jesus, glory be,
who shine in vict’ry over death,
with God the Father, ever blest,
and loving Spirit, ever one. Amen.
Tune: EISENACH, as above
or Mode VIII, melody 116; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Lætare, cælum, desuper, 10th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Rise up, Lord, and come to my aid, alleluia.
Psalm 35:1-2, 3c, 9-19, 22-23, 27-28
The Lord as Savior in time of persecution
They came together... and laid their plans to capture Jesus by treachery and put him to death (Matthew 26:3-4).
I
O Lord, plead my cause against my foes; *
fight those who fight me.
Take up your buckler and shield; *
arise to help me.
O Lord, say to my soul: *
“I am your salvation.”
But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord *
and rejoice in his salvation.
My whole being will say: *
“Lord, who is like you
who rescue the weak from the strong *
and the poor from the oppressor?”
Lying witnesses arise *
and accuse me unjustly.
They repay me evil for good: *
my soul is forlorn.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Rise up, Lord, and come to my aid, alleluia.
Ant. 2 All-powerful Lord, stand by me and defend me, alleluia.
II
When they were sick I went into mourning, *
afflicted with fasting.
My prayer was ever on my lips, *
as for a brother, a friend.
I went as though mourning a mother, *
bowed down with grief.
Now that I am in trouble they gather, *
they gather and mock me.
They take me by surprise and strike me *
and tear me to pieces.
They provoke me with mockery on mockery *
and gnash their teeth.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. All-powerful Lord, stand by me and defend me, alleluia.
Ant. 3 My tongue will speak of your goodness all the day long, alleluia.
III
O Lord, how long will you look on? *
Come to my rescue!
Save my life from these raging beasts, *
my soul from these lions.
I will thank you in the great assembly, *
amid the throng I will praise you.
Do not let my lying foes *
rejoice over me.
Do not let those who hate me unjustly *
wink eyes at each other.
O Lord, you have seen, do not be silent, *
do not stand afar off!
Awake, stir to my defense, *
to my cause, O God!
Let there be joy for those who love my cause. *
Let them say without end:
“Great is the Lord who delights *
in the peace of his servant.”
Then my tongue shall speak of your justice, *
all day long of your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, you rescue the poor from their oppressors, and you rose to the aid of your beloved Son against those who unjustly sought his life. Look on your Church as we journey to you, that the poor and weak may recognize the help you provide and proclaim your saving acts.
Ant. My tongue will speak of your goodness all the day long, alleluia.
Christ Jesus you have risen from the dead, alleluia.
— Let the heavens and the earth rejoice, alleluia.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the Book of Revelation
22:1-9
The river of life-giving water
The angel showed me the river of life-giving water, clear as crystal, which issued from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowed down the middle of the streets. On either side of the river grew the trees of life which produce fruit twelve times a year, once each month; their leaves serve as medicine for the nations. Nothing deserving a curse shall be found there. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be there, and his servants shall serve him faithfully. They shall see him face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever.
The angel said to me: “These words are trustworthy and true; the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon.”
“Remember, I am coming soon! Happy the man who heeds the prophetic message of this book!”
It is I, John, who heard and saw all these things, and when I heard and saw them I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me: “No, get up! I am merely a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and those who heed the message of this book. Worship God alone!”
RESPONSORY
Revelation 22:5, 3
Night will be no more,
for the Lord God will be the light for his servants,
— and they shall reign for ever, alleluia.
The throne of the Lamb will be in the holy city.
There his servants will worship him.
— And they shall reign for ever, alleluia.
SECOND READING
From a sermon by Blessed Isaac of Stella, abbot
(Sermo 42: PL 194, 1831-1832)
Firstborn of many brothers
Just as the head and body of a man form one single man, so the Son of the Virgin and those he has chosen to be his members form a single man and the one Son of Man. Christ is whole and entire, head and body, say the Scriptures, since all the members form one body, which with its head is one Son of Man, and he with the Son of God is one Son of God, who himself with God is one God. Therefore the whole body with its head is Son of Man, Son of God, and God. This is the explanation of the Lord’s words: Father, I desire that as you and I are one, so they may be one with us.
And so, according to this well-known reading of Scripture, neither the body without the head, nor the head without the body, nor the head and body without God make the whole Christ. When all are united with God they become one God. The Son of God is one with God by nature; the Son of Man is one with him in his person; we, his body, are one with him sacramentally. Consequently those who by faith are spiritual members of Christ can truly say that they are what he is: the Son of God and God himself. But what Christ is by his nature we are as his partners; what he is of himself in all fullness, we are as participants. Finally, what the Son of God is by generation, his members are by adoption, according to the text: As sons you have received the Spirit of adoption, enabling you to cry, Abba, Father.
Through his Spirit, he gave men the power to become sons of God, so that all those he has chosen might be taught by the firstborn among many brothers to say: Our Father, who are in heaven. Again he says elsewhere: I ascend to my Father and to your Father.
By the Spirit, from the womb of the Virgin, was born our head, the Son of Man; and by the same Spirit, in the waters of baptism, we are reborn as his body and as sons of God. And just as he was born without any sin, so we are reborn in the forgiveness of all our sins. As on the cross he bore the sum total of the whole body’s sins in his own physical body, so he gave his members the grace of rebirth in order that no sin might be imputed to his mystical body. It is written: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no sin. The blessed man of this text is undoubtedly Christ, who forgives sins insofar as God is his head. Insofar as this man is the head of the body, no sin is forgiven him. But insofar as the body that belongs to this head consists of many members, sin is not imputed to it.
Just in himself, it is he who justifies himself. He alone is both Savior and saved. In his own body on the cross he bore what he had washed from his body by the waters of baptism. Bringing salvation through wood and through water, he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world which he took upon himself. Himself a priest, he offers himself as sacrifice to God, and he himself is God. Thus, through his own self, the Son is reconciled to himself as God, as well as to the Father and to the Holy Spirit.
RESPONSORY
Romans 12:5; Colossians 2:9-10; 1:18
We are all one body in Christ,
and in the one body we are all members of one another.
— In his body the fullness of divinity dwells,
and in him you find your fulfillment, alleluia.
Christ is the head of the body, the Church,
and the firstborn from the dead,
so that in every way the primacy may be his.
— In his body the fullness of divinity dwells,
and in him you find your fulfillment, alleluia.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Lord,
by this Easter mystery
prepare us for eternal life.
May our celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection
guide us to salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
