Easter Vigil

I found this on one of my seminary friend's site, and thought it very appropriate for this night. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

The Following is an excerpt from the Ancient Easter Hymn, the Exultet, translated into English:

"Let now the heavenly hosts of angels rejoice let the living mysteries be joyfully celebrated: and let a sacred trumpet proclaim the victory of so great a King.Let the earth also be filled with joy, illuminated with such resplendent rays; and let men know that the darkness which overspread the whole world is chased away by the splendor of our eternal King.

Let our mother the Church be also glad, finding herself adorned with the rays of so great a light and let this temple resound with the joyful acclamations of the people...It is truly fitting and just to proclaim with all the affection of our heart and soul, and with the sound of our voice the invisible God the Father almighty, and his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ.Who paid for us to his eternal Father the debt of Adam: and by his sacred blood canceled the guilt contracted by original sin.

For this is the Paschal solemnity, in which the true Lamb was slain, by whose blood the doors of the faithful are consecrated.This is the night in which thou formerly broughtest forth our forefathers, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, leading them dry-foot through the Red Sea. This then is the night which dissipated the darkness of sin by the light of the pillar.This is the night which now delivers all over the world those that believe in Christ from the vices of the world and darkness of sin, restores them to grace, and clothes them with sanctity.

This is the night in which Christ broke the chains of death, and ascended conqueror from hell.For it availed us nothing to be born, unless it had availed us to be redeemed.O how admirable is thy goodness towards us! O how inestimable is thy love! Thou hast delivered up thy Son to redeem a slave.O truly necessary sin of Adam, which the death of Christ has blotted out!O happy fault, that merited such and so great a Redeemer!

O truly blessed night, which alone deserves to know the time and hour when Christ rose again from hell.This is the night of which it is written: And the night shall be as light as the day, and the night is my illumination in my delights.Therefore the sanctification of this night blots out crimes, washes away sins, and restores innocence to sinners, and joy to the sorrowful. It banishes enmities, produces concord, and humbles empires.