did the earth rejoice to feel You again?

It is the most wonderful time of the year. 

The piano in Church caught my eye yesterday. I ached to sit at the bench and twinkle my fingers across the ivory keys, and tap my foot to the tune of a Resurrection concerto.

I know that my Redeemer lives.  What joy, hope, thrill, beauty, that blessed assurance gives. He lives, He lives, Who once was dead.

Death is the worst.  Thus it follows that life is the best. 

Everlasting life, therefore, is better than the best.  It is the Dream of all dreams.  And this Dream which dwells in the very marrow of every son of Adam and daughter of Eve, can now come true.  For with God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:27).  

The Easter Vigil Mass is, no contest, my favorite thing in the world.  We begin in the dark, in the tomb, and then we are immersed in the Word of God from the beginning of creation, to the culmination of Salvation history.  We hold little dancing flames that shine with joy for their Creator, and glow with a fervor that spurns any attempt at the darkness to overcome it. 

“He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling;
Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice;
When he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!" shining with joy for their Maker.
Such is our God; no other is to be compared to him” Baruch 3:34-36

And then, it happens.  Alleluia!  The chimes peel back their eager cries, silenced by death no longer, for it is of Life alone that they will sing.  ALLELUIA!  HE IS RISEN.  The Gospel is proclaimed, and my imagination goes where it dared not venture during the heartbreak of the day before.  It timidly beckons me forth from the dark of the tomb, into a quiet garden.  

A garden awakening with the golden breath of dawn

a garden that seems to breathe with anticipation as a sweet breeze causes a murmur of hope to escape from the leaves of the nearby trees. 

And there it is.  The empty tomb. The women wondering who will open the tomb for them to dress His Body for burial, wonder at this no longer, for something completely new has happened.  Mary Magdalene hears in the quiet of the garden the voice of He Whom her heart loves speak her name again.  Peter and the Beloved Disciple race to an empty tomb in a garden where the grass is singing, for they have served as a path for their Creator’s feet to tread upon once more.  

And then, it happens.  Those who have been preparing for the waters of Baptism to cleanse their souls, to be Baptized into Christ’s death so as to be raised into His new life, receive their hearts desire.  And we watch in awe, as God’s grace pours into their hearts, and the Holy Spirit descends into our midst.  Life is triumphant.  Where, o death, is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting?  Heaven rejoices over the lost sheep that have been found!  And then we all get to renew our Baptismal vows.  We get to reject Satan and all of His empty show.  We get to announce that we very well do believe in God the Father the Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth.   We believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.  Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucfied, died and was buried.  He descended into hell, and on the third day, He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father, the Almighty.  From thence He shall come to judge the living in the dead.  We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the Resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.  Amen.  

And then, we celebrate again the Passion, the death, and the Resurrection of Jesus at the Eucharistic table.  We receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of God’s dearly Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  

And then, if you are me, you weep.  You weep at the Alleluia chorus from Handel’s Messiah being bellowed by an angelic choir to your left.  You weep at the realization that, by the Grace of God, Mimi and all of the faithful departed, all the saints, all the angels, are there with you, rejoicing.  For our desire is fulfilled.  Our hope is complete.  Our hearts are forever mended.  Death is no more.  Life alone is the song to which our hearts dance.  Life alone remains.  Where, o death, is your victory?  

I had the most beautiful gift of rejoicing alongside my older sister, my brother, my precious fousin, and Lisa Amalia.  And after the Vigil Mass, we took our joy home and let it burst into a glass of bubbly, some chocolates, and laughter.  

thanks to Bubba for these pictures!!!

We are still in the Octave of Easter. 

Everyday this week is a Solemnity, and I sure as the Easter Bunny’s left ear am acting like it (that means chocolate chip pancakes are NOT in short supply these mornings)

I hope you are, too.  We are saved!!!!!! Rejoice!!!! Awake, o sleeeper!!! Arise!!! It is the Thursday of the Octave of Easter.  That is the mother of all TGITS.  REJOICE!!!!!

Instagram and I are MFEO (meant for each other). Thank you, dear fousin, for sharing this little piece of happiness with me