HOLY SATURDAY NIGHT – VIGIL OF EASTER . Year A - Saturday April 4th, 2026 (Longer Liturgy of the Easter VIGIL)​

HOLY SATURDAY NIGHT – VIGIL OF EASTER . Year A - Saturday April 4th, 2026 (Longer Liturgy of the Easter VIGIL)

HOLY SATURDAY NIGHT – VIGIL OF EASTER  . Year A - Saturday April 4th, 2026
(Longer Liturgy of the Easter VIGIL)

Readings for HOLY SATURDAY NIGHT – VIGIL OF EASTER. Year A - Saturday April 4th, 2026
(This is the whole vigil of Readings and Holy Saturday Mass – It is traditionally much longer than the usual Mass and filled with ancient beauty and profound symbolism)
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers, and homily) for HOLY SATURDAY NIGHT – VIGIL OF EASTER. Year A - Saturday April 4th, 2026, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/holy-saturday-vigil-of-1/s-lu9MykJfWth  

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The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

I. The Solemn Beginning of the Vigil (also known as "Lucernarium"):  Blessing of the Fire, Procession, Exsultet

II. The Liturgy of Word:       Readings/psalms/prayers, Gloria, Homily

III. Renewal of baptism

IV. The Liturgy of Eucharist: Preface of Easter I, (Easter Communicantes, Hanc igitur in Euch. Prayer I)

V. The Concluding Rites:     Dismissal with Alleluia

Readings:      
I Gen 1:1 - 2:2: God saw all he had made, and indeed it was good.
Ps 103:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12-14, 24, 35: R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

II Gen 22:1-18: Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac.
Ps 15:5, 8-11: R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

III  Ex 14:15 - 15:1: Tell the children of Israel to march on, to walk through the sea on dry ground.
Ex 15:1-6, 17-18: R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

IV  Is 54:5-14: But with everlasting love I have taken pity on you, says the Lord, your redeemer.
Ps 29:2, 4-6, 11-13: R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

V   Is 55:1-11: Come to me and your soul will live. With you I will make an everlasting covenant.
Is 12:2-6: R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

VI  Baruch 3:9-15,32 - 4:4: Walk in the way of God and you will live in peace forever.
Ps 18:8-11: R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

VII Ezek 36:16-28: I shall pour clean water over you and I shall give you a new heart.
Ps 41:3, 5; 42:3, 4: R. Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

Rom 6:3-11: Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again.
Ps 117:1-2, 16-17, 22-23: R. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Mt 28:1-10: He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee.

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Illustration ID: 585677387 - Easter resurrection - abstract artistic religious digital illustration with the figure of the risen Jesus Christ and the cross of light rays - Illustration Formats. Illustration Contributor:
Thoom

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Christ is risen, as he said. His resurrection is the first fruit of the eternal life, promised to all who entrust themselves to him. 

A very special welcome to all our candidates and catechumens who, over this Holy Saturday, right throughout the world, are being baptised and fully received into the Christian faith, into the Catholic Church.

Thank you for your preparation, and thank you for your sponsors and the catechists who have assisted you. The Lord has been guiding you and being with you your whole life journey, and now he leads you to this moment, to fuller communion with him in the Church and in the faith. Your reception, your baptism, confirmation, and reception of First Holy Communion tonight is a beautiful source of renewal and strength for all of us too.

Whether we were baptised when we were babies or adults, tonight, by you renewing your faith and entering into the Church, our faith is renewed as well. We too this season renew our faith and commitment to Christ and his grace. Thank you to everyone who supported them, including the whole faith community that have been praying with you on this wonderful journey of faith.

Easter, more than any other feast, tells us that God has the last word in absolutely everything. That word is a profoundly positive and definitive yes. Sin and suffering and evil, it has a say in the world, and it's very, very damaging.

But it is Easter that reminds us that God has the final say on everything, and it is a life-giving word. First and foremost, this word is a yes to his beloved son Jesus, who is God the Son, and it's a yes to everything he did and taught in his ministry. His resurrection is a profound and absolute yes to life, and to us as his eternally cherished daughters and sons.

God today gives a yes to forgiveness of sin for all who are bowed down by the past. God gives a profound yes to us, of his faithfulness to us, no matter what our trials and tragedies that befall us in this life. That is extremely assuring.

Easter and the message of resurrection is about life, hope, love and forgiveness. The irony of the cross and the message of today's wonderful Feast of the Resurrection, the only things we truly possess, that is, things that have abiding and eternal value, are the things that we gain by giving them away. The only things worth possessing are the things that only make sense when given, which achieves very little if stored up.

We're talking about things like love, given freely without expectation, kindness and forgiveness without expecting return, acts of charity, not for recognition or approval, but rather random acts of kindness that no one will ever know we're responsible for. They're done just because they're loving and good, not for any recognition. The more love you give away, the more love you have.

The more love you try to store away, the less love you have. It defies all other economic principles. And that's the logic of Christ and his cross and resurrection.

Our Lord Jesus in his life, his suffering and his death and his resurrection, which we celebrate today, is the perfect example of all these wonderful qualities. And even more wonderfully, he invites us all to share in his way of living. This Easter is a special time for giving thanks.

And for remembering and hopefully getting an opportunity to share time with family and friends and hopefully a bit of rest time for ourselves as well. Easter also reminds us that God is the God of new starts, new beginnings. So we can draw a line behind the past and walk with Christ to renew all things and go forward in his ways.

We also remember prayerfully all who've gone before us because the Easter resurrection gives us peace and assurance in the belief that the Lord of the resurrection is faithful to all his children. And just as he was raised from the dead, he will one day raise us up to new and eternal life in heaven, where one day we'll all be reunited in joy at the heavenly banquet feast. There'll be no more tears, no sadness, no illness, but the fullness of God's kingdom of joy and love.

At Easter, we think of people too who are struggling, those who feel hopeless, those who feel they'll never be good enough or worthy enough, those who fear they could never be forgiven for their sins. Today's feast says to them, yes, God is with you. God will never abandon you.

God truly does want to renew you, to forgive you and give you new hope, new starts, new life, indescribable mercy. Christ says to all of this, yes, and we thank God for this, this day and every day. Jesus is an unequivocal yes to self-sacrifice, service and love, a yes, a profound yes to compassion, mercy and generosity of spirit.

Anyone who says nice people finish last, God says no to that and a profound yes to those who continue to trust that goodness is its own reward, thinking more of others and less of ourselves. May God bless and renew us in his astounding love and may God bless us with his ever-abiding faithfulness and eternal care and may our lives be more and more marked each and every day by these wonderful qualities of Christ, new life and the resurrection.

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References:

Fr Paul W. Kelly

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Illustration ID: 585677387 - Easter resurrection - abstract artistic religious digital illustration with the figure of the risen Jesus Christ and the cross of light rays - Illustration Formats. Illustration Contributor:
Thoom

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HOLY SATURDAY NIGHT – VIGIL OF EASTER . Year A - SATURDAY, 2026 (Longer Liturgy of the Easter VIGIL)

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PREFACE: Preface I of Easter
Euch prayer I

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks


Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

Sound Engineering and editing -  P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: -  Shure MV5 Digital Condenser (USB)

Editing equipment: NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor

[Production -  KER -  2026]
May God bless and keep you.
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