Holy Saturday

God, come to my assistance.
 - Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
 -  as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.

HYMN

Lift High the Cross

Chorus:
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore his sacred name.

1. Come, Christians follow where our Savior trod,
Our King victorious, Christ, the Son of God.

2. Led on their way by this triumphant sign,
The hosts of God in glorious ranks combine

3. All newborn followers of the Crucified
Bear on their brows the seal of him who died.

4. O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
As you have promised, save and set us free.

5. So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory.

PSALMODY

Antiphon 1:  Though sinless, the Lord has been put to death. The world is in mourning for an only son.

Hear my voice, O God, as I complain,
guard my life from dread of the foe.
Hide me from the band of the wicked,
from the throng of those who do evil.

They sharpen their tongues like swords;
they aim bitter words like arrows
to shoot at the innocent from ambush,
shooting suddenly and recklessly.

They scheme their evil course;
they conspire to lay secret snares.
They say: "Who will see us?
Who can search out our crimes?"

He will search who searches the mind
and knows the depths of the heart.
God has shot them with his arrow
and dealt them sudden wounds.
Their own tongue has brought them to ruin
and all who see them mock.

Then will all men fear;
they will tell what God has done.
They will understand God's deeds.
The just will rejoice in the Lord
and fly to him for refuge.
All the upright hearts will glory.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Antiphon 1   Though sinless, the Lord has been put to death. The world is in mourning for an only son.

 

Antiphon 2   From the jaws of hell, Lord, rescue my soul.

Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years."  

I said, "I shall see the Lord no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."  

My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.

Day and night you give me over to torment;  
I cry out until the dawn.
Like a lion he breaks all my bones;
day and night you give me over to torment.  

Like a swallow I utter shrill cries;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weak, gazing heavenward:
O Lord, I am in straits; be my surety!

You have preserved my life
from the pit of destruction,
When you cast behind your back
all my sins.  

For it is not the nether world that gives you thanks,
nor death that praises you;
Neither do those who go down into the pit
await your kindness.  

The living, the living give you thanks,
as I do today.
Fathers declare to their sons,
O God, your faithfulness.  

The Lord is our savior;
we shall sing to stringed instruments
In the house of the Lord
all the days of our life.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Antiphon 2   From the jaws of hell, Lord, rescue my soul.

Antiphon 3   I was dead, but now I live forever, and I hold the keys of death and of hell.

Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.

O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.

O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Antiphon 3   I was dead, but now I live forever, and I hold the keys of death and of hell.


READING                  Hosea 6:1-2
   Thus says the Lord:
In their affliction, they shall look for me:
  "Come, let us return to the LORD,
For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
  he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
  on the third day he will raise us up,
  to live in his presence.


In place of the responsory, the following is said:
For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross. Therefore God raised him on high and gave him the name above all other names.

BENEDICTUS  (Canticle of Zechariah)
Antiphon:
Save us, O Savior of the world. On the cross you redeemed us by the shedding of your blood; we cry out for your help, O God.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
 he has come to his people and set them free.
 He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
 born of the house of his servant David.
 
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
 from the hands of all who hate us.
 He promised to show mercy to our fathers
 and to remember his holy covenant.
 
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
 to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
 Free to worship him without fear,
 holy and righteous in his sight
 all the days of our life.
 You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
 for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
 To give his people knowledge of salvation
 by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
 the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
 To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
 
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever.  Amen.

Save us, O Savior of the world. On the cross you redeemed us by the shedding of your blood; we cry out for your help, O God.

INTERCESSIONS

Our Redeemer suffered and was buried for us in order to rise again. With sincere love we adore him, and aware of our needs we cry out:

                      Lo rd, have mercy on us.

Christ our Savior, your sorrowing Mother stood by you at your death and burial, in our sorrows may we share your suffering.

                      Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ our Lord, like the seed buried in the ground, you brought forth for us the harvest of grace, may we die to sin and live for God.

                       Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, in death you lay hidden from the world, teach us to love a life hidden with you in the Father.

                        Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, the new Adam, you entered the kingdom of death to release all the just since the beginning of the world, may all who lie dead in sin hear your voice and rise to life.

                        Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, Son of the living God, through baptism we were buried with you, risen also with you in baptism, may we walk in newness of life.

                      Lord, have mercy on us.

Now let us pray as Christ the Lord has taught us:
Our Father...

COLLECT
All-powerful and ever-living God,
your only Son went down among the dead
and rose again in glory.
In your goodness
raise up your faithful people,
buried with him in baptism,
to be one with him
in the eternal life of heaven,
where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.