Holy Jesus, Almighty God, Creator and Redeemer of all life,
On this Easter day we praise you with our whole heart, mind, and voice,
As we celebrate the mysterious Passover
In which you yourself are the Paschal Lamb;
For by your death and resurrection you have freed us from our sins
As once you freed your people from slavery in Egypt.
What might have been a day of mourning after your death
You have made instead a day of rejoicing and a feast,
For in the very night we thought all hope was lost
You saw fit to work your transformation of the world.
This is the day/night when you brought our ancestors
Out of slavery, leading them through the Red Sea on dry land.
This is the day/night when you delivered us from the bonds of death and sin,
And brought us to life with you as you rose victorious from the grave.
How wonderful is the mystery of your unfailing grace, O God,
That you would give yourself in exchange for your mortal creation.
How holy and blessed is this day when earth and heaven are joined
And all creation is reconciled to you who love us even unto death.
O God our Savior, look favorably upon us your Church and continue in us the live-giving work you began in the hours before dawn on that first Easter day. Make us a beacon of your eternal love and grace; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, that things which had fallen to disrepair are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
Based in part on the English text of the Exsultet chant.
Plagal Cadence 