Easter Preparation

In the calm-before-the-Easter-storm of music, mystery and Alleluias the back-stage preparations are in high gear. Flowers are being organized and arranged ...

... and the liturgies have been copied and collated ...



... as we prepare at All Saints Church for our six celebrations of Easter: the 4:00 Children's Vigil this afternoon, where 17 little people will be baptized into the Body of Christ; the 7:30 Great Vigil of Easter where we will kindle the first fire of Easter, sing the Exsultet, hear the stories of salvation and then baptize 5 bigger people and welcome 52 new members; and then the four Easter Day services -- 7, 9, 11:15 and 1pm -- with families and flowers and music and joy.

So in this calm-before-the-Easter-storm, here's a poem by John O'Donohue to help our internal preparation for Easter catch up with the external preparations so well underway:

No one knew the name of this day;
Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that traveled ahead,
Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.

The mind of the day draws no attention;
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words,
Drawing us to listen inward and outward.

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.

Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.

So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.

-John O'Donohue