Easter Day is the pinnacle of the Christian year. It celebrates that Jesus is risen and alive, and that he continues his ministry with his community of disciples in the Church. Two of the places where the Christian community encounters Jesus are Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, and so Easter is the principal day for these two Sacraments.

The Great Vigil of Easter is the first liturgy of Easter Day and the Easter Season. It opens with the kindling of a fire, then a long series of readings sketching out God’s saving acts in Jewish and Christian biblical history. The Eucharist – the first Eucharist of Easter – marks the first time the newly baptized will join other Christians in partaking of the Lord’s Supper.