Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,

that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the lighting of his glory,
let this holy building shake with joy,
filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.

(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,
invoke with me, I ask you,
the mercy of God almighty,
that he who has been pleased to number me,
though unworthy, among the Levites,
may pour into me his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises.)

et pro tanti Regis victória tuba ínsonet salutáris.

Gáudeat et tellus tantis irradiáta fulgóribus:

et, ætérni Regis splendóre illustráta,

totíus orbis se séntiat amisísse calíginem.

Lætétur et mater Ecclésia,

tanti lúminis adornáta fulgóribus:

et magnis populórum vócibus hæc aula resúltet.

(Quaprópter astántes vos, fratres caríssimi,

ad tam miram huius sancti lúminis claritátem,

una mecum, quæso,

Dei omnipoténtis misericórdiam invocáte.

Ut, qui me non meis méritis

intra Levitárum númerum dignátus est aggregáre,

lúminis sui claritátem infúndens,

cérei huius laudem implére perfíciat).

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin
to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when the pillar of fire
destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave
you gave away your Son.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right and just.

It is truly right and just,
with ardent love of mind and heart,
and with devoted service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.
Who for our sake paid Adam’s debt to the eternal Father,
and pouring out his own dear Blood
wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.

These then are the feasts of Passover,
in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb,
whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.

This is the night,
when once you led our forebears,
Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.

This is the night
that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.

This is the night
that even now, throughout the world,
sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
lending them to grace,
and joining them to his holy ones.

This is the night
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death, and rose
victorious from the underworld.

Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.

O wonder of your humble care for us!

O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!

O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!

V. Sursum corda.

R. Habémus ad Dóminum.

V. Grátias agámus Dómino Deo nostro.

R. Dignum et iustum est.

Vere dignum et iustum est,

invisíbilem Deum Patrem omnipoténtem

Filiúmque eius Unigénitum,

Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum,

toto cordis ac mentis afféctu et vocis ministério personáre.

Qui pro nobis ætérno Patri Adæ débitum solvit,

et véteris piáculi cautiónem pio cruóre detérsit.

Hæc sunt enim festa paschália,

in quibus verus ille Agnus occíditur,

cuius sánguine postes fidélium consecrántur.

Hæc nox est,

in qua primum patres nostros,

fílios Israel edúctos de Ægýpto,

Mare Rubrum sicco vestígio transíre fecísti.

Hæc ígitur nox est,

quæ peccatórum ténebras colúmnæ illuminatióne purgávit.

Hæc nox est,

quæ hódie per univérsum mundum in Christo credéntes,

a vítiis sǽculi et calígine peccatórum segregátos,

reddit grátiæ, sóciat sanctitáti.

Hæc nox est,

in qua, destrúctis vínculis mortis,

Christus ab ínferis victor ascéndit.

Nihil enim nobis nasci prófuit, nisi rédimi profuísset.

O mira circa nos tuæ pietátis dignátio!

O inæstimábilis diléctio caritátis:

ut servum redímeres, Fílium tradidísti!

O certe necessárium Adæ peccátum,

quod Christi morte delétum est!

Of this night scripture says:
“The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy.”

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church’s solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

For it is fed by the melting wax,
which the mother bee brought forth
to make this precious candle.

worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!

This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness.

The sanctifying power of this night
dispels all wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord,
and brings down the mighty.

On this, your night of grace,
O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants’ hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church.

But now we know the praises of this pillar,
which glowing fire ignites for God’s honor,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.

O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.

Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honor of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.

O vere beáta nox,

quæ sola méruit scire tempus et horam,

in qua Christus ab ínferis resurréxit!

Hæc nox est, de qua scriptum est:

Et nox sicut dies illuminábitur:

et nox illuminátio mea in delíciis meis.

Huius ígitur sanctificátio noctis fugat scélera, culpas lavat:

et reddit innocéntiam lapsis et mæstis lætítiam.

Fugat ódia, concórdiam parat et curvat impéria.

In huius ígitur noctis grátia,

súscipe, sancte Pater, laudis huius sacrifícium vespertínum,

quod tibi in hac cérei oblatióne sollémni,

per ministrórum manus

de opéribus apum, sacrosáncta reddit Ecclésia.

Sed iam colúmnæ huius præcónia nóvimus,

quam in honórem Dei rútilans ignis accéndit.

Qui, licet sit divísus in partes,

mutuáti tamen lúminis detriménta non novit.

Alitur enim liquántibus ceris,

quas in substántiam pretiósæ huius lámpadis

apis mater edúxit.

O vere beáta nox,

in qua terrénis cæléstia, humánis divína iungúntur!

Orámus ergo te, Dómine,

ut céreus iste in honórem tui nóminis consecrátus,

ad noctis huius calíginem destruéndam,

indefíciens persevéret.

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who coming back from death’s domain
has shed his peaceful light on humanity
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen.

supérnis lumináribus misceátur.

Flammas eius lúcifer matutínus invéniat:

Ille, inquam, lúcifer, qui nescit occásum:

Christus Fílius tuus,

qui, regréssus ab ínferis, humáno géneri serénus illúxit,

et vivit et regnat in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.