Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!

We don't have a lot of images of the risen Christ, so I had to hunt around in my old art books, and found this lovely image by Titian, to put on the mantelpiece, after we got back from the Easter vigil, in the old rite, held at a tiny little Church in Cheshire, an hour's drive away from us, with a Priest from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. My, do they do stirling work, these Priests - he had to sing the Exsultet (there was no deacon), and then all the lessons, the Gospel, and practically everything else! There was a small choir to help out, but as it's a long time since the Triduum was held in the old rite in this country, it is hard for the congregation to help out with the singing, as many of us don't know the chants - hopefully some of the younger people will get more of an opportunity to learn them. He did it beautifully, though, and we felt the solemnity and the magnificence of a liturgy appropriate to the occasion.

And now from the sublime to the cor blimey! as my dad used to say:-

Even the "boiled egg" is a sugar-coated chocolate one!!! My lad gave up sweets and fruit juice for Lent, so Easter breakfast is a bit of a strange mixture! His aunty, and godmother, (my sister) has over-indulged him with chocolates, but she did give him the big lamb with a card saying "Enjoy the chocs, but don't forget the Real Lamb". I'm not keen on the "bunny" imagery; eggs are ok, as they remind us of the stone being rolled away, and Jesus bursting forth from the tomb, and it's always good to find a lamb, to remind us of Jesus' sacrifice, but I can't see any merit in the "Easter Bunny" - it reminds me a bit of "Father Christmas getting stuck in the chimney" - a jolly figure that detracts from the religious meaning of our key Christian festivals. Still, we can always have fun bashing up the chocolate to smithereens, as a punishment for its irreligeosity!!!!

When I stayed with a charismatic Catholic community in the USA one Easter (aeons ago, before I became the hardened bitter and twisted Traddie that I now am) , the Priest, who had a great sense of humour, on Easter morning would get a large plastic bottle, dressed up with with a pair of bunny ears, and a bow, and say to his dog, Lisa, "Now Lisa, show the folks what we think of the Easter Bunny" and Lisa would proceed to "savage" the bottle. We all found it hilarious, but when I related this story to a German friend, he seemed very offended - I wondered then, whether the Easter Bunny has a deeper significance for the Germanic people?

Anyway, God Bless, Happy Easter, and don't overdo the Chocolate, Merlot, Coffee, etc. etc...!