Holy Saturday: He is Risen, Alleluia! Alleluia!
On Easter Vigil this year, our parish welcomed with great joy 11 individuals who were received into the Church through the sacrament of Baptism. Along with them, were three others who received the sacrament of Confirmation.
The Easter Vigil liturgy is one of the most solemn and beautiful liturgies of the Church, deeply rich in symbolism and a jubilant reminder of the victory of Christ over sin and death. The night vigil is arranged in four parts:
Part One: Service of Light
A large fire was prepared near the old parish house outside the church. Everyone gathered there, where Fr Dom, with the assistance of Acolyte, Mr William Henry and the altar servers first blessed the fire and then the Easter Candle by inserting five grains of incense in the candle and saying the prescribed words. He then lit the Easter Candle from the new fire. Following this, Fr led the congregation in a procession back to the church while three times singing “Christ our light” and the congregation responding “Thanks be to God.”
Entering a dark church, the congregation lit their candles from the fire of the Easter Candle, after which the Easter Proclamation or Exsultet was sung.
Part Two: Liturgy of the Word
As many as nine readings are proposed for the Easter Vigil, seven from the Old Testament and two from the New. This is the time for us to meditate on all the wonderful things God has done for his people from the beginning. At the Vigil service, each reading was followed by a Responsorial Psalm and a prayer. After the final reading, the Gloria was sung to the ringing of church bells. This was then followed by the Gospel reading
Part Three: Liturgy of Baptism
This part began with the litany of the saints. Fr Dom then blessed the baptismal water, after which the rites of Baptism and Confirmation followed.
Part Four: Liturgy of the Eucharist
The final part of the celebration was the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Together with the rest of the congregation, the newly baptised joyfully received the Body and Blood of Christ for the first time.
Please visit the link below for more photos
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1t-k9XcU5cEg8brouctd6f1BrEaZbElgO