Easter Wishes (late)

Happy Easter! I hope you all had a blessed day celebrating the light and life of the Risen Lord! (Sorry I'm late!)

 

I love this video, of a flash mob in a mall food court of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. This song always brings tears to my eyes, because it is so beautiful, moving and has such a wonderful message.Catholics normally sing this song at Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it always moves me to tears to move from darkness to light. No matter what it means to you, it is a beautifully sung song, and I just love it.

Enjoy!

The Alleluia comes to us from Hebrew, and it means "praise Yahweh." Traditionally, it has been seen as the chief term of praise of the choirs of angels, as they worship around the throne of God in Heaven. During Lent, however, our focus is on the Kingdom coming, not on the Kingdom having come. The readings in the Masses for Lent and in the Liturgy of the Hours focus heavily on the spiritual journey of Old Testament Israel toward the coming of Christ, and the salvation of mankind in His death and resurrection.We, too, are on a spiritual journey, toward the Second Coming and our future life in Heaven. In order to emphasize that journey, the Church, during Lent, removes the Alleluia from the Mass. We no longer sing with the choirs of angels; instead, we acknowledge our sins and practice repentance so that one day we may again have the privilege of worshiping God as the angels do.That day come triumphally on Easter Sunday—or, rather, at the Easter Vigil, on Holy Saturday night, when the priest chants a triple Alleluia before he reads the Gospel, and everyone present responds with a triple Alleluia. The Lord is risen; the Kingdom has come; our joy is complete; and, in concert with the angels and saints, we greet the risen Lord with shouts of "Alleluia!"