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The Paschal Vigil is the Great Liturgy in which the whole Paschal Triduum culminates.
If there is ever a liturgy that looks less like a Sunday Mass, it’s the Easter Vigil. At the same time, such a perspective is misleading: the Easter (or Paschal) Vigil is the liturgy of the Church year. It is the most important Eucharistic celebration of the year. Its roots reach back to the Apostolic generation. In the Church’s earliest centuries, it lasted all night until dawn. In fact, in the earliest Church, there were no separate liturgies during the day on Easter Sunday. The Vigil held privilege of place.
This overview of the Vigil is divided into two parts because the Vigil itself is long and complex. The chief components of the Paschal Vigil are the opening Service of Light; an extended Liturgy of the Word; the blessing of water followed by the celebration of the Christian sacraments of initiation, i.e., baptism of catechumens and their confirmation (as well as Christian converts to the Church); and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
A preliminary note: The vigil must begin after sunset. The Church has been increasingly emphatic about this point: vigils are nocturnal watches and so they must begin after dark. They are not “extra-long Saturday night Masses” and should not be scheduled at the same time as a parish’s usual Saturday evening Mass for Sunday.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
If there is ever a liturgy that looks less like a Sunday Mass, it’s the Easter Vigil. At the same time, such a perspective is misleading: the Easter (or Paschal) Vigil is the liturgy of the Church year. It is the most important Eucharistic celebration of the year. Its roots reach back to the Apostolic generation. In the Church’s earliest centuries, it lasted all night until dawn. In fact, in the earliest Church, there were no separate liturgies during the day on Easter Sunday. The Vigil held privilege of place.
This overview of the Vigil is divided into two parts because the Vigil itself is long and complex. The chief components of the Paschal Vigil are the opening Service of Light; an extended Liturgy of the Word; the blessing of water followed by the celebration of the Christian sacraments of initiation, i.e., baptism of catechumens and their confirmation (as well as Christian converts to the Church); and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
A preliminary note: The vigil must begin after sunset. The Church has been increasingly emphatic about this point: vigils are nocturnal watches and so they must begin after dark. They are not “extra-long Saturday night Masses” and should not be scheduled at the same time as a parish’s usual Saturday evening Mass for Sunday.
Continued below.
A Step-by-Step Guide to the Easter Vigil Mass
The Paschal Vigil is the Great Liturgy in which the whole Paschal Triduum culminates.
