FIRST READING

Option A

Genesis 1:1–2:2

CHAPTER 1

1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth—2 and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—

3 Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.

6 Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other. 7 God made the dome, and it separated the water below the dome from the water above the dome. And so it happened. 8 God called the dome “sky.” Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.

9 Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the basin of water he called “sea.” God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: 12 the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.

14 Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days and the years, 15 and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth. And so it happened: 16 God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.

20 Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky. 21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good, 22 and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth. 23 Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.

24 Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened: 25 God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.

27 God created mankind in his image;

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. 29  God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30 and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. 31 God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.

CHAPTER 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. 2 On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.

RESPONSE

Psalm 104:30

30 Send forth your spirit, they are created

and you renew the face of the earth.

PSALM

Psalm 104:1–2, 5–6, 10, 12–14, 24, 35

1 Bless the LORD, my soul!

LORD, my God, you are great indeed!

You are clothed with majesty and splendor,

2 robed in light as with a cloak.

You spread out the heavens like a tent;

5 You fixed the earth on its foundation,

so it can never be shaken.

6 The deeps covered it like a garment;

above the mountains stood the waters.

10 You made springs flow in wadies

that wind among the mountains.

12 Beside them the birds of heaven nest;

among the branches they sing.

13 You water the mountains from your chambers;

from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.

14 You make the grass grow for the cattle

and plants for people’s work

to bring forth food from the earth,

24 How varied are your works, LORD!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

35 May sinners vanish from the earth,

and the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, my soul! Hallelujah!

SECOND READING

Option A

Genesis 22:1–18

1 Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test and said to him: Abraham! “Here I am!” he replied. 2 Then God said: Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you. 3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac, and after cutting the wood for the burnt offering, set out for the place of which God had told him.

4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, 7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Here I am,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 12 “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel. “Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a single ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named that place Yahweh-yireh; hence people today say, “On the mountain the LORD will provide.”

15 A second time the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven 16 and said: “I swear by my very self—oracle of the LORD—that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your son, your only one, 17 I will bless you and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies, 18 and in your descendants all the nations of the earth will find blessing, because you obeyed my command.”

RESPONSE

Psalm 16:1

1 A miktam of David.

Keep me safe, O God;

in you I take refuge.

PSALM

Psalm 16:5, 8–11

5 LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

you have made my destiny secure.

8 I keep the LORD always before me;

with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;

my body also dwells secure,

10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

nor let your devout one see the pit.

11 You will show me the path to life,

abounding joy in your presence,

the delights at your right hand forever.

THIRD READING

Exodus 14:15–15:1

15 Then the LORD said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. 16 And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. 17 But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

19 The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, 20 so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, 22 so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.

23 The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. 24 But during the watch just before dawn, the LORD looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; 25 and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the LORD spoke to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their horsemen. 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal flow. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward it when the LORD cast the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the horsemen. Of all Pharaoh’s army which had followed the Israelites into the sea, not even one escaped. 29 But the Israelites had walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of Egypt. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore 31 and saw the great power that the LORD had shown against Egypt, the people feared the LORD. They believed in the LORD and in Moses his servant.

CHAPTER 15

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;

horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

RESPONSE

Exodus 15:1b

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;

horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

PSALM

Exodus 15:1–6, 17–18

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;

horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

2 My strength and my refuge is the LORD,

and he has become my savior.

This is my God, I praise him;

the God of my father, I extol him.

3 The LORD is a warrior,

LORD is his name!

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea;

the elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

5 The flood waters covered them,

they sank into the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power,

your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.

17 You brought them in, you planted them

on the mountain that is your own—

The place you made the base of your throne, LORD,

the sanctuary, LORD, your hands established.

18 May the LORD reign forever and ever!

FOURTH READING

Isaiah 54:5–14

5 For your husband is your Maker;

the LORD of hosts is his name,

Your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

called God of all the earth.

6 The LORD calls you back,

like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

A wife married in youth and then cast off,

says your God.

7 For a brief moment I abandoned you,

but with great tenderness I will take you back.

8 In an outburst of wrath, for a moment

I hid my face from you;

But with enduring love I take pity on you,

says the LORD, your redeemer.

9 This is for me like the days of Noah:

As I swore then that the waters of Noah

should never again flood the earth,

So I have sworn now not to be angry with you,

or to rebuke you.

10 Though the mountains fall away

and the hills be shaken,

My love shall never fall away from you

nor my covenant of peace be shaken,

says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

11 O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,

I lay your pavements in carnelians,

your foundations in sapphires;

12 I will make your battlements of rubies,

your gates of jewels,

and all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD;

great shall be the peace of your children.

14 In justice shall you be established,

far from oppression, you shall not fear,

from destruction, it cannot come near.

RESPONSE

Psalm 30:2a

2 I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up

and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

PSALM

Psalm 30:2, 4–6, 11–13

2 I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up

and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

4 LORD, you brought my soul up from Sheol;

you let me live, from going down to the pit.

5 Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful;

give thanks to his holy memory.

6 For his anger lasts but a moment;

his favor a lifetime.

At dusk weeping comes for the night;

but at dawn there is rejoicing.

11 Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me;

LORD, be my helper.”

12 You changed my mourning into dancing;

you took off my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness.

13 So that my glory may praise you

and not be silent.

O LORD, my God,

forever will I give you thanks.

FIFTH READING

Isaiah 55:1–11

1 All you who are thirsty,

come to the water!

You who have no money,

come, buy grain and eat;

Come, buy grain without money,

wine and milk without cost!

2 Why spend your money for what is not bread;

your wages for what does not satisfy?

Only listen to me, and you shall eat well,

you shall delight in rich fare.

3 Pay attention and come to me;

listen, that you may have life.

I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

the steadfast loyalty promised to David.

4 As I made him a witness to peoples,

a leader and commander of peoples,

5 So shall you summon a nation you knew not,

and a nation that knew you not shall run to you,

Because of the LORD, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found,

call upon him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake their way,

and sinners their thoughts;

Let them turn to the LORD to find mercy;

to our God, who is generous in forgiving.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

10 Yet just as from the heavens

the rain and snow come down

And do not return there

till they have watered the earth,

making it fertile and fruitful,

Giving seed to the one who sows

and bread to the one who eats,

11 So shall my word be

that goes forth from my mouth;

It shall not return to me empty,

but shall do what pleases me,

achieving the end for which I sent it.

RESPONSE

Isaiah 12:3

3 With joy you will draw water

from the fountains of salvation,

PSALM

Isaiah 12:2–6

2 God indeed is my salvation;

I am confident and unafraid.

For the LORD is my strength and my might,

and he has been my salvation.

3 With joy you will draw water

from the fountains of salvation,

4 And you will say on that day:

give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;

Among the nations make known his deeds,

proclaim how exalted is his name.

5 Sing praise to the LORD for he has done glorious things;

let this be known throughout all the earth.

6 Shout with exultation, City of Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel!

SIXTH READING

Baruch 3:9–15, 32–4:4

9 Hear, Israel, the commandments of life:

listen, and know prudence!

10 How is it, Israel,

that you are in the land of your foes,

grown old in a foreign land,

11 Defiled with the dead,

counted among those destined for Hades?

12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!

13 Had you walked in the way of God,

you would have dwelt in enduring peace.

14 Learn where prudence is,

where strength, where understanding;

That you may know also

where are length of days, and life,

where light of the eyes, and peace.

15 Who has found the place of wisdom?

Who has entered into her treasuries?

32 But the one who knows all things knows her;

he has probed her by his knowledge—

The one who established the earth for all time,

and filled it with four-footed animals,

33 Who sends out the lightning, and it goes,

calls it, and trembling it obeys him;

34 Before whom the stars at their posts

shine and rejoice.

35 When he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”

shining with joy for their Maker.

36 Such is our God;

no other is to be compared to him:

37 He has uncovered the whole way of understanding,

and has given her to Jacob, his servant,

to Israel, his beloved.

38 Thus she has appeared on earth,

is at home with mortals.

CHAPTER 4

1 She is the book of the precepts of God,

the law that endures forever;

All who cling to her will live,

but those will die who forsake her.

2 Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:

walk by her light toward splendor.

3 Do not give your glory to another,

your privileges to an alien nation.

4 Blessed are we, O Israel;

for what pleases God is known to us!

RESPONSE

John 6:68c

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

PSALM

Psalm 19:8–11

8 The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

9 The precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart.

The command of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eye.

10 The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The statutes of the LORD are true,

all of them just;

11 More desirable than gold,

than a hoard of purest gold,

Sweeter also than honey

or drippings from the comb.

SEVENTH READING

Ezekiel 36:16–17a, 18–28

16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in its land, they defiled it with their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the impurity of a woman in menstruation.

18 So I poured out my fury upon them for the blood they poured out on the ground and for the idols with which they defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through other lands; according to their behavior and their deeds I carried out judgment against them. 20 But when they came to the nations, where they went, they desecrated my holy name, for people said of them: “These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave their land.” 21 So I relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel desecrated among the nations to which they came. 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sake do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you desecrated among the nations to which you came. 23 But I will show the holiness of my great name, desecrated among the nations, in whose midst you desecrated it. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD—oracle of the Lord GOD—when through you I show my holiness before their very eyes. 24 I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. 25  I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. 28 You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

RESPONSE

Psalm 42:2

2 As the deer longs for streams of water,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

PSALM

Psalm 42:3, 5, 43:3–4

3 My soul thirsts for God, the living God.

When can I enter and see the face of God?

5 Those times I recall

as I pour out my soul,

When I would cross over to the shrine of the Mighty One,

to the house of God,

Amid loud cries of thanksgiving,

with the multitude keeping festival.

3 Send your light and your fidelity,

that they may be my guide;

Let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place of your dwelling,

4 That I may come to the altar of God,

to God, my joy, my delight.

Then I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.

EPISTLE

Romans 6:3–11

3 Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

5 For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. 7 For a dead person has been absolved from sin. 8 If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. 10 As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. 11 Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Psalm 118:1–2, 16–17, 22–23

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

his mercy endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:

his mercy endures forever.

16 the LORD’s right hand is raised;

the LORD’s right hand works valiantly.”

17 I shall not die but live

and declare the deeds of the LORD.

22 The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

23 By the LORD has this been done;

it is wonderful in our eyes.

GOSPEL

Matthew 28:1–10

1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. 4 The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. 5 Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” 8 Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. 9  And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2023 | VIGIL | EASTER

EASTER VIGIL

YEAR A | ROMAN MISSAL | LECTIONARY

First Reading Genesis 1:1–2:2 or Genesis 1:1, 26–31a

Response & Psalm, Option I

Response Psalm 104:30

Psalm Psalm 104:1–2, 5–6, 10, 12–14, 24, 35

or

Response & Psalm, Option II

Response Psalm 33:5b

Psalm Psalm 33:4–7, 12–13, 20–22

Second Reading Genesis 22:1–18 or Genesis 22:1–2, 9a, 10–13, 15–18

Response Psalm 16:1

Psalm Psalm 16:5, 8–11

Third Reading Exodus 14:15–15:1

Response Exodus 15:1b

Psalm Exodus 15:1–6, 17–18

Fourth Reading Isaiah 54:5–14

Response Psalm 30:2a

Psalm Psalm 30:2, 4–6, 11–13

Fifth Reading Isaiah 55:1–11

Response Isaiah 12:3

Psalm Isaiah 12:2–6

Sixth Reading Baruch 3:9–15, 32–4:4

Response John 6:68c

Psalm Psalm 19:8–11

Seventh Reading Ezekiel 36:16–17a, 18–28

Response & Psalm, Option I

Response Psalm 42:2

Psalm Psalm 42:3, 5, 43:3–4

or

Response & Psalm, Option II

Response Isaiah 12:3

Psalm Isaiah 12:2–3, 4b–6

or

Response & Psalm, Option III

Response Psalm 51:12a

Psalm Psalm 51:12–15, 18–19

Epistle Romans 6:3–11

Gospel Acclamation Psalm 118:1–2, 16–17, 22–23

Gospel Matthew 28:1–10