Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph!
Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,
ablaze with light from her eternal King,
let all corners of the earth be glad,
knowing an end to gloom and darkness.
Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the lightning of his glory,
let this holy building shake with joy,
filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.
(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,
invoke with me, I ask you,
the mercy of God almighty,
that he, who has been pleased to number me,
though unworthy, among the Levites,
may pour into me his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises.)
(V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.)
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, with ardent love of mind and heart
and with devoted service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.
Who for our sake paid Adam’s debt to the eternal Father,
and, pouring out his own dear Blood,
wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.
These, then, are the feasts of Passover,
in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb,
whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.
This is the night,
when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children,
from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.
This is the night
that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.
This is the night
that even now, throughout the world,
sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
leading them to grace
and joining them to his holy ones.
This is the night,
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.
Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.
O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!
O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!
This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness.
The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.
On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants’ hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church.
But now we know the praises of this pillar,
which glowing fire ignites for God’s honor,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.
O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.
Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honor of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.
Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death’s domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
Easter Sunday 2024
The Resurrection of the Lord
Anonymous artist, Greek Icon with Myrrhbearers Women (XVIII century). particular collection.
The main protagonists of tonight are… women! Brave woman. Wonderful woman. Of course, that Jesus is the main Protagonist, the real hero of everything and always. The central character of the whole story. But today the gospel tells us something else. The gospel narrative tonight it is simply fascinating. We just heard about three ladies: Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome[1]. Theology has called them the Myrrh carriers[2], those that get the myrrh, myrrh is the ointment to embalm the dead body of the Lord Jesus…
These women we could say are crazy … yes, crazy. Totally crazy. But crazy with love, crazy with passion, crazy with courage. These three women are doing something that no one had arranged: the embalming of the body of the Lord. Those were their initial thoughts, but the angel changes what was planned: “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here», he says. And the moral is very simple: It is a mistake to look for Him in the world of the dead. Jesus is not just another deceased. It is not necessary to mourn and cry, in fact, it is a waste of time. He is risen. He is alive forever! And this is exactly what we are celebrating tonight, This is why we are gathered together tonight, doing the same thing that Christians have done for over two thousand years on Easter night.
We can celebrate with joy because the tomb is empty; because death was not more powerful, and because we can expect exactly the same. Yes: in the same way that He resurrected, so, we are going to resurrect each one of us, but for that there is still a long way.
Jesus is not in the tomb, so…. where can he be seen? Where can we meet him? Again, that angel gives us a clue: “He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you»[3].Jesus cannot be seen without making a journey. We all must do a journey; Actually, we are all doing that trip right now; Our Christian life is that journey. All of us must go to Galilee! For what exactly? To see the Lord, as the gospel says [4], to experience the presence, company and friendship of Jesus.
Tonight, is the perfect time to renew our faith, to return to our commitment of love to Him; to resolve that we must keep walking, trying, doing our best. When we stop, when we give up, when we stop asking questions, … that’s when our faith starts to grow cold and die, and then the Resurrection is just a sublime doctrine, a sacred dogma… but nothing else! So, let us ask Jesus tonight to give us a gift. Only one. That same courage, passion and determination of those three women who were looking for him on the morning of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome. They went to the tomb to anoint the body Jesus, and they ended up being anointed by the Resurrection. If we are open, the same thing could happen to us: that we go on the road looking for Jesus and suddenly we realize that, before, he was looking for us, anxious to fill our hearts, our life, our families, our projects… our everything with his love, his joy and his peace •
[1] Cf. Mark 16:1-7 [2] In Orthodox Christian tradition the Myrrh bearers (Greek: Μυροφόροι, Latin: Myrophorae;) are the individuals who were directly involved in the burial or who discovered the empty tomb following the resurrection of Jesus. The term traditionally refers to the women with myrrh who came to the tomb of Christ early in the morning to find it empty. In Western Christianity, the two women at the tomb, the Three Marys or other variants are the terms normally used. Also included are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who took the body of Jesus down from the cross, embalmed it with myrrh and aloes, wrapped it in clean linen, and placed it in a new tomb. (Matthew 27:55–61, Matthew 28:1–10, Mark 15:40–16:11, Luke 23:50–24:10, John 19:38–20:18). [3] Cf. Mark 16:1-7 [4] Ídem.
This is one of four Marian antiphons, with following versicles and prayers, traditionally said or sung after night prayer, immediately before going to sleep. It is said throughout Eastertide. (That is, from Easter Day through Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter. The Regina caeli is also said in place of the Angelus during Eastertide.
Queen of Heaven
V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.
V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia.
R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Regina caeli
V. Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
V. Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
R. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
LA MEDITACION DE LA ESPOSA 