| 22 Saturday | |
| | violet | HOLY SATURDAY | | | The Paschal Fast is observed if possible. [CR 20] Celebration of the Mass and the sacraments is strictly prohibited, except for Penance and Anointing of the Sick. Communion may be given only as viaticum. | | | Hours of the day. The Office of Readings and Morning Prayer in public is recommended.
Night Prayer is celebrated only by those not present at the Vigil. | | | | Preparation for the Vigil includes: preparation of the bonfire; candles for all the faithful present; water for the liturgy of Baptism; flowers and decorations for the altar. | | | |
| white | The Easter Vigil. | | | The celebration should truly have the character of a Vigil. It must take place at night. It should not begin before nightfall and should end before dawn. To start earlier (e.g. at the customary time for a Sunday vigil Mass) is a "reprehensible abuse". [PS 78]
The Vigil has four parts:
I. Service of Light : Bonfire, Procession with Candle, Exsultet.
II. Liturgy of the Word : Readings, psalms, prayers, Gloria, homily.
III. Liturgy of Baptism : Litany, Blessing of Water, Baptism and/or Confirmation,
Renewal of Promises, Prayer of the Faithful.
IV. Liturgy of the Eucharist : Preface of Easter I ("on this night"), special
Communicantes and Hanc igitur; double alleluia at dismissal.
This liturgical order must not be changed by anyone on his own initiative. [PS 81]
| | | Wherever possible, all the readings should be read so that the character of the Easter Vigil, which demands that it be somewhat prolonged, be respected at all costs. Where pastoral conditions require that the number of readings be reduced, there should be at least three readings from the Old Testament, taken from the law and the prophets; and the reading from Exodus (ch. 14) with its canticle, must never be omitted. | | | The Readings [41]: | |
- Gen 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a with Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10+12, 13-14, 24+35 or Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22
- Gen 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a,10-13, 15-18 with Ps 16:5+8, 9-10, 11
- Exod 14:15-15:1 with Exod 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18 This reading and psalm are obligatory.
- Isa 54:5-14 with Ps 30:2+4, 5-6, 11-12a+13b
- Isa 55:1-11 with Isa 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
- Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4 with Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
- Ezek 36:16-17a, 18-28 with Ps 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 (when baptisms occur) or (when no baptisms) Isa 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 or Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
- Epistle: Rom 6:3-11
- Alleluia Psalm: Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
- Gospel: Luke 24:1-12
| | | Bells are to be rung during the Gloria, and the altar candles lit. |
| The celebrant -- or, in case of necessity, a cantor -- intones the triple alleluia before the Gospel. The gospel is honored with incense, but candles are not carried.
For the texts of the rites of Baptism and Confirmation, see the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
The dismissal with double alleluia is used tonight and throughout the octave. |
| Anniversary: | 59th anniversary of the death of P. Francis Keenan (HIB) (90) d. 2020 at Dublin, Ireland.  | | Anniversary: | 58th anniversary of the death of P. José Afonso Marques Pinto (POR) (91) d. 2021 at Lisbon, Portugal. |
| Jubilee: | Granite Jubilee of P. Alojz PODGRAJSEK who celebrates 90 years since professing Final Vows today. |
On this day in our Jesuit history...
| | Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Society of Jesus. Feast. | | | THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS (Feast)
On 22 April 1541, the Founding Fathers of the Society of Jesus made their solemn profession of vows in the newly instituted Order, during the celebration of Mass at Our Lady’s altar in the basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome. It was a crowning event in the history of the Society of Jesus. Today’s feast commemorates the birth of the vowed Society and its dedication to Mary as its Mother.
| | 1541 | St. Ignatius is unanimously elected General. But he refuses. 1595. St. Henry Walpole, S.J. is martyred at York. | | 1581 | At the close of the Fourth General Congregation, Pope Gregory XIII received the new General, Father Claude Acquaviva, and promised to provide a foundation fund for the Roman College. | | 1585 | (Day uncertain.) Discontent of certain Spanish Fathers at Father Claude Acquaviva's election: they wanted a Spanish general. Such a state of things requiring great firmness, Father General Acquaviva expelled a number of Professed Fathers. | | 1952 | A Letter of Fr. General Janssens "On Continual Mortification." | | 1972 | Rene Arnou, S.J. dies. He was a professor at the Gregorian, a scholar on spirituality and philosophy. | | 1995 | Engelbert Mveng, S.J. is killed in his bed in the Cameroons. He was a theologian, artist, and scholar and writer on the history and culture of West Africa. He also founded the community of the Beatitudes. | | | | |
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