Monday, April 17, 2017

Our Triumphant Holy Day

This last few days, as we've prepared for and sung all the Easter Triduum services and Masses, I've been thinking about the favorite old hymn, Jesus Christ is Risen Today. (If you didn't get to sing that yesterday, I'm sorry for you.) It's the second line that's getting to me this year: "Our triumphant holy day" (Aaaaaaa-le-lu-u-ia!)... and specifically the word "our." It's OUR day. All of ours. All of us. Even the people we don't know -- there are millions, trillions who celebrate this day and ARE LOVED BY JESUS! And even the people who drive us crazy. We share this, the crazy people and me. We are one in it. We are one in believing it, and in being saved by it, and someday we'll be together in heaven singing about it and living it.

I'm finding that something to chew on -- something to learn from -- something to meditate about, perhaps, this Easter season. We. Our. Our Jesus. 

I had the most blessed Easter yesterday. Possibly my best one ever. I don't know why. There was such joy in my heart, somehow, even though the kids fought over the egg hunt first thing in the morning. Our homilies were good -- excellent, even, at one Mass, it brought me to tears (I went to three Easter Masses because I'm in the choir and my daughter's in the children's choir) -- our music was lovely and moving (I pray), of course the kids' music was, too -- is there anything more glorious than children singing praise and alleluia? Nope -- and our day, after the morning mayhem, was relaxed and easy. Even cooking an Easter dinner for the four of us wasn't taxing. And there was prosecco. :) 

I'm still kind-of on a high from it all, and I'm supposedly working right now (the kids have Easter Monday off, but I'm working from home). Of course, working from home has a lot to do with my mood -- I love it so, AND I just got a revision written on a piece that's been hard for me to get my head around. Right now I'm outside at the patio table with a cup of coffee and this laptop. But the holy joy, that's what sticking with me. What a gift. I mean, of course, the enormous gift of the Resurrection, but also the small gift of a beautiful, calm and inspiring holiday yesterday, too. 

Our triumphant day, indeed.