O God, who by invisible power
accomplish a wondrous effect through sacramental signs
and who in many ways have prepared water, your creation,
to show forth the grace of Baptism;
O God, whose Spirit, in the first moments of the world’s creation,
hovered over the waters,
so that the very substance of water
would even then take to itself the power to sanctify;
O God, who by the outpouring of the flood
foreshadowed regeneration,
so that from the mystery of one and the same element of water
would come an end to vice and a beginning of virtue;
O God, who caused the children of Abraham
to pass dry shod through the Red Sea,
so that the chosen people, set free from slavery to Pharaoh,
would prefigure the people of the baptized;
O God,
whose Son, baptised by John in the waters of the Jordan,
was anointed with the Holy Spirit,
and as he hung | upon the Cross,
gave forth from his side | blood and water,
and, after his Resurrection, commanded his disciples:
“Go forth, teach all nations, teach all nations,
look now, we pray, upon the face of your Church
and graciously unseal for her the fountain of Baptism.
May this water receive by the Holy Spirit
the grace of your Only Begotten Son,
so that human nature, created in your image,
and washed clean through the sacrament of Baptism
from all the squalor of the life of old,
may be found worthy to rise to the life of newborn children
through water and the Holy Spirit.
May the power of the Holy Spirit,
O Lord, we pray,
come down through your Son
into the fullness of this font,
so that, all who have been buried with Christ
by Baptism into his death
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

At the banquet of the Lamb,
arrayed in white robes,
having crossed the Red Sea,
we sing to Christ the Lord.
His body ablaze with love,
at the banquet, is living bread;
on the altar, his blood
is the cup of the New Covenant.
At the banquet of the Lamb…
On this wondrous evening
the ancient marvels are made present:
a mighty arm saves us
from the angel of destruction.
At the banquet of the Lamb…
The meek slaughtered lamb,
Christ, is our Passover;
his sacred body
is the true unleavened bread.
At the banquet of the Lamb…
Pour out paschal joy
on your Church, O Lord;
unite in your victory
those born again through baptism.
At the banquet of the Lamb…
Praise and honour be to Christ,
triumphant over death,
to the Father and the Holy Spirit
now and forever.
Amen

Down there beyond the river,
I chose your father Abraham,
and from an impotent old man
I multiplied your descendants.
Far be it from us to forsake
our God
who has worked marvels for us
before our very eyes.
A people enslaved
I rescued from Egypt
and with a mighty hand
I opened the Red Sea.
Far be it from us to forsake…
For years in the desert
I fed you with manna
and upon eagles’ wings
I took you beyond the mountains.
Far be it from us to forsake…
I gave you a land,
cities you did not build,
vineyards you did not plant,
springs of living water.
Far be it from us to forsake…

It’s the Passover of the Lord,
exalt him and sing:
Alleluia, alleluia!
He is the God of Abraham and of Isaac,
He is the God of Jacob.
It’s the Passover of the Lord…
It is he who has opened the Red Sea,
and through it we have passed.
It’s the Passover of the Lord…
It is he who leads us through the desert,
and guides us on the way.
It’s the Passover of the Lord…
It is he who has sent Christ to us
and raised him from the dead.
It’s the Passover of the Lord,
exalt him and sing:
Alleluia, alleluia.

Who is this who comes from Edom?
Who is this
who advances, his garments dyed in red,
magnificent in his apparel,
he walks full of strength?
It is I, it is I, who speak with justice:
it is I, a great liberator.
And why,
why are your garments red?
And why are they
as if you had trodden the winepress?
Why, why?
In the winepress, in the winepress,
I have trodden alone;
of my people, no one was with me.
I looked, I looked, there was no one to help me,
I was appalled: there was no one to sustain me.
Then, my own arm saved me,
my strength, my strength sustained me:
the day of vengeance had arrived.
I trod, I trod upon the peoples,
and made the earth run with their blood,
all my garments were stained.
Who is this who comes from Edom?
Who is this
who advances, his garments dyed in red,
magnificent in his apparel,
he walks full of strength?