A Short Litany of Deliverance Based on the Easter Proclamation Introduction: At each celebration of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, we gather around the paschal candle and proclaim the power of the night when Christ rose from the dead. In a hymn called the Exsultet we call upon all creation to rejoice at Jesus Christ, our King, risen from the dead. Easter is more than a feast we celebrate once a year. The paschal candle and the Exsultet are reminders that through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have been brought from darkness into God’s marvelous light. This short litany of deliverance is a meditation on the power of the Light of Christ to deliver us from our sin and death. Guide: Lord Jesus, you who are the Risen One, your passion and death has allowed us to pass over from death to new life. In our baptism we were buried with you in order to rise in you. We are assured of the power of the cross in which we can trust, even in this present darkness. You have told us that nothing can take us out of your hand. As we pray for our Church we ask that the grace of your resurrection will “dispel all evil.” Reader: (From the beginning of the Exsultet): Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation! Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever! …My dearest friends, standing with me in this holy light, join me in asking God for mercy. Guide: As we struggle through this “dark night” of our Church, we pray, Response: “Dispel all evil!” Guide: When we are shamed by the sin of sexual abuse by ministers of the church, Response: May we remember that” Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!” Guide: In this time when the sins of sexual abuse are a source of sorrow and scandal in the Church and in the world even long after they have been committed, Response: We pray, Lord, “restore us to grace that we may grow together in holiness.” Guide: As we mourn the loss we feel at the harm done by members of your Church, Response: We submit to the power of the cross and resurrection which “casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.” Guide: For those who once loved the Church and now feel hatred towards her, Response: We pray you shed upon us “your peaceful light.”
Guide: When troubled memories and painful experiences haunt victims of abuse, Response: May Christ, the “Morning Star which never sets,” dispel the sorrow they carry and bring them joy. Guide: When we are tempted to pride and excuses for our conduct, Response: We ask you to “humble earthly pride” that we may follow in Christ’s way of humility and gentleness. Guide: Let us pray. As we in the Church together live this “dark night,” may we all be reconciled to one another and with our God. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.