Life always follows death. It is the way of everything. As in the macro, so in the micro. That which dies transforms into life again.
At Easter, Christians worldwide commemorate and celebrate Jesus’ triumph over death. Jesus was right all along: the love of God is so strong and so true that not even death can separate us from it.
For those of any faith, the knowledge that that we can never be separated from the love of God because God is in us and we are in God is indeed the Good News that Jesus preached.
Celebrate in Song
As we maneuver through this confusing world surrounded by a virus that confuses, confounds, and sometimes kills, knowing that God is with us is something to celebrate. And music is one of my favorite ways to do that.
For over a decade, I had the privilege of singing with the choir at the Chapel of St. Ignatius on the campus of Seattle University. Each year, we’d sing the Easter Sequence, a glorious Gregorian chant. I’d like to share two renditions of that beautiful piece. It is sung in Latin but you’ll get the drift even if you don’t understand the words.
Michael Englehardt’s modern jazzy arrangement with English subtitles
Wheaton College Men’s Glee Club traditional rendition that morphs into the Englehardt arrangement. Notice the joy on the faces of the young men singing.
And for what could be the anthem for this moment in history, the Chapel of St. Ignatius choir sings another favorite, In God’s Time:
And finally, Andrea Bocelli sang sacred music today in Music for Hope, a free concert broadcast live around the world from the empty Duomo in Milan, Italy. The Cathedral would normally be full of Catholics celebrating but this year it will be only Bocelli and the Duomo’s organist.
Happy Easter one and all.
All will be well. All will be well. All manner of things shall be well.
Julian of Norwich