- This event has passed.
Great Vigil of Easter & First Mass of the Resurrection
April 20, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Holy Saturday, also called the Holy Sabbath and the Great Sabbath, is an empty day, the day when Christ rested in the tomb and all creation awaited the resurrection. According to tradition, the Vigil is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Morning. In its present form, the Great Vigil consists of four parts:
- theService of Light;
- the Service of Lessons;
- Christian Initiation; and
- the Holy Eucharist.
The Story of our redemption is told, not with the drama of Palm Sunday and Good Friday, but with the solid symbols of faith, fire, light, water, bread and wine, and with the proclamation of the Word of God. In the Great Vigil of Easter, we pass over with Christ from death to life, and with the church from Lent to Easter.