Sunday, March 31, 2013

Why do you seek the living among the dead?






Wishing you all a joyful Easter.



Image: Nicholas Haberschrack: The Three Marys at the Tomb  Polish circa 1470


46 comments:

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    1. Thanks, BtoB. I've just watched the Easter service from Paisley Abbey in Scotland with Mozart's Coronation Mass sung by their excellent choir. It was glorious. :-)

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    2. Oh, hope that doesn't mean you won't want to hear the Mozart again in May at ANY price! Don't forget Montgomeryshire Festival Choir will be doing it with orchestra in the second half of their concert.

      Happy Easter, Big Sis, and - just for you as Granddad would have said as his first greeting of the day - "Christ is Risen!"

      Which is almost as abiding a memory as Mummy insisting we had to have a proper attempt at breakfast before eating any chocolate.

      We are settling down to watch the Boat Race. And then a late lunch.

      Still haven't had any chocolate yet, that's for with coffee, after we have eaten. Early training lasts, eh?

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    3. He is risen indeed. I lay in bed this morning and said the acclamation and response to myself as soon as I woke up. A very happy Easter to you and my darling brother-in-law. :-)

      As for the Mozart, I will always be happy to listen to it. Just like you with Bach I never tire of Mozart, whether singing or listening. Don't forget I have the entire set of Mozart masses which I actually put on my wish-list. :-)

      My chocolate (not an egg) came with coffee after lunch. as you say - early training....

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    4. It would feel too naughty, even for me.

      Yaaay to Oxford! After last year's calamity, shambles and debacle, at least this was proper race. Oooh, but the Oxfprd cox was a bIt noisy and ON it for my taste, and then I heard it was his 25th b'day today, and I thought, oh, they are SO young...

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    5. And I don't think my taste-buds are set for chocolate first thing.

      We didn't see last year's race, being in the far north without TV, but this year's was a good, hard competition. I blame the in-boat camera for over-emphasising the cox's encouragement of the crew. Without it we'd be none the wiser. :-)

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  2. Hari Om
    Ah, just spotted your Easter morning activity in the box above. That sounds grand! You'll be contemplating lunch now as we head into our evening in Mumbai. I trust the rest of your day brings further satisfaction.

    Thankyou for pointing out the link regarding the painting. Very interesting. It's 40 years since I visited Coventry and can only remember there WAS a tapestry, but not it's detail. will look that up too! It pray that you are getting some relief from the weather also - though speaking with my family last evening, it seems possibly not. Hope the food stocks hold up! Regards and once again Blessings. YAM

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    1. Happy Easter, Yamini and enjoy your evening. I shall be relaxing in front of the TV this afternoon watching the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, while starting a new pair of socks. :-)

      I'm glad you found the link interesting. Graham Sutherland is also known in Wales for his paintings of Welsh landscapes. As for the weather, it's bright with some sun but still very cold and the thaw is very slow. But we have enough food to sit it out.

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    2. Ah! My question is answered. YO! to the Dark Blues...

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    3. You've said it. A very hard-fought race.

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  3. He is risen indeed. God bless you, and happy Easter.

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    1. Alleluia! A very happy Easter to you and your family, Bonnie.

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  4. Just to say that there's been a sudden onslaught of spam with clever disguised links on this post, so I've switched on comment moderation temporarily until they get fed up and go elsewhere. :-)

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  5. A happy Easter to you..I shall thuink of you knitting your socks as I too watch the Boat Race.
    Oxford had best win...mother expects every rower to do his duty....

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    1. Thanks, Helen, and the same to you. I'm wearing my new Easter socks as I type, so have to get something else on the needles ASAP. DH and I will be cheering on Oxford too. We met as students there a LONG time ago. :-)

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    2. Helen, your mother should be happy. :-) A clean sweep for Oxford in every race!

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  6. Have a happy day Perpetua. The sun is trying to shine here in Yorkshire. I am sitting here, wondering exactly how much drawer space in your 3 homes are taken up with hand knitted socks.Happy Easter P. fondest wishes J.

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    1. Thanks, Janice and the same to you and your family. The sun keeps popping in and out, but it's still officially the coldest Easter on record in the UK!

      Your remark about sock storage made me giggle. What with socks for myself and DH and now socks as gifts for family and friends, drawer space is not yet a problem, thanks. :-) Hope you're recovering fast from the final lot of chemo. P xxx

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  7. Happy Easter to you! Lovely piece of late medieval art :-)
    Off to cheer on Oxford.

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    1. Thanks and the same to you both. I knew you would enjoy the image, which I think is gorgeous.

      Oxford must have heard all our cheers - a very good race.

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  8. Happy Easter Perpetua, Snow bound no longer.

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    1. Thanks, Molly and the same to you. Your release gives me hope. :-) Our snow is thawing but there's some way to go yet.

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  9. Happy Easter Perpetua! There may be still snow on the ground, but there's spring in your heart. I can feel it in your post. Glad you were able to 'take part' in the Easter Services via technology. As for the early training... concerning chocolate... I'm afraid that we always dug into ours the minute we got up. Absolutely no control, I know, but after giving it up for Lent, we were generally in chocolate withdrawal by Easter.

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    1. Thanks, Rian, and the same to you. You're quite right - the sun is shining and that makes such a difference. Even the drifts are starting to shrink a little. :-)

      The service was great and really uplifted me. As for Easter chocolate, our family was 'chapel' and Lenten observance didn't really figure in our tradition. But our parents were strict about not spoiling our appetite before meals, hence the rule about chocolate. :-)

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  10. A blessed and joyful Easter to you Perpetua!

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    1. Thanks, Sue and the same to you. It's been a very special day.

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  11. Happy Easter to you too Perpetua. I hope the Spring thaw starts soon!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah. I hope your Easter was a happy one too. The thaw has definitely started, but the drifts are so deep they'll take some time to melt completely.

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  12. A joyful Easter to you - all 50 days of it! Maybe it will be warmer by Pentecost!

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    1. Now there's a lovely thought. :-) Easter blessings to you too and enjoy your post-Easter break.

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  13. Another beautiful and perfectly apt work of art - thank you Perpetua, and Happy Easter.

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    1. And a very happy Easter to you also, Patricia. I have wide tastes in art, but with a particular love for mediaeval and Renaissance paintings, so love searching for the right ones.

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  14. This joyful Eastertide...(another favourite hymn)..Happy Easter to you!

    My father-in-law once roused a teenage son from late slumber with the words, 'The Lord is risen, and I suggest you follow his example.' I do hope that you have had a good day. You were warmly in my prayers as promised on Good Friday, and in our Easter Vigil in the icy darkness last night (minus 3, quite parky even standing by the fire for the paschal candle) and again at this morning's Mass. This was the first time I'd participated in the Easter Vigil (thanks to Granny being here to babysit) and I loved its ancient rituals of fire and water. One brave soul sang the whole of the Exsultate in plainchant, lit by our candles - quite magical, for want of a better word.

    And to top it all - Oxford won the boat race! Gaudeamus igitur (even if none of us is 'juvenes' any longer)!

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    1. And to you and yours, DB. This joyful Eastertide is a favourite of mine too and it was sung as an anthem during the service from Paisley Abbey which I watched with such enjoyment yesterday.

      I would like to have met your father-in-law - such a lovely dry sense of humour. :-) I had a very good day, thanks, and am very grateful for your prayers during what must have such a special Triduum and Easter Day for you. The very thought of an Easter Vigil at -3 makes me shiver in sympathy, whereas the thought of the plainchant Exultet warms my heart.

      The boat race victory was the crowing touch. That overall Cambridge lead is rapidly diminishing. :-)

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  15. Love the painting Perpetua. Happy Easter to you and yours.
    Patricia x

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    1. I thought that would appeal to you as a student of history, Patricia. I hope you enjoy the rest of Easter, even if the sun has disappeared again.

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  16. Christ has Risen.
    I too said these words and prayed early sunday morning to our dear lord.
    I hope that your Easter Sunday was a blessed joyful one Perpetua.
    wishing you a good week.
    val

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    1. Welcome to my blog, Val, and I'm pleased you made it. These long-held traditions are very important and I'm glad you had such a special Easter Day with your family. Ours was quiet, with just the two of us, but happy.

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  17. I enjoyed sharing the joy of Easter with you, my friend. He is risen indeed! oxo

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    1. Alleluia, Debra! We had a lovely Easter Day, as I hope yours was with your family around you.

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  18. A belated Happy Easter from me, and a resounding cheer for the dark blues! How did the sock knitting go?

    I do hope your release comes soon!

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    1. Thanks and the same to you. The race was great, wasn't it, though everyone looked SO cold! The first of a new pair is now on the needles and I wore the just-completed ones to mark Easter.

      As for the release - so do I. This snow really has outstayed its welcome.

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  19. Your reply to your sister above warmed my heart, Perpetua. My Greek Orthodox tradition always brings this greeting on Easter morning and for the next forty days. I don't hear it often in other traditions, which are meaningful in their own ways, but "Christ has rise" is always what I am saying in my heart, if not on my tongue, indeed.

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    1. I thought you would appreciate that, Penny, coming from your background. The Easter greeting and response is now much more common in Anglican liturgy on Easter Day and when I'm taking the service I always begin with it and expect to hear a wholehearted response from the congregation. :-)

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  20. A belated but very Happy Easter to you Perpetua! However, as your earlier commenter says, the Easter season lasts a full 50 days. Having been away on our post-Easter break, I'm only just catching up on reading & commenting on the blogs I follow.

    The Easter greeting is firmly part of the liturgy from Easter Day to Pentecost in 'Common Worship - Services & Prayers for the Church of England'. It rang out again this morning in St. Clement's, as it did on Easter Day in both Prague & Brno.

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    1. Thanks, Ricky, and the same to you and Sybille. Having just received some belated Easter cards (DH met the postman at the top of the lane this morning and collected a fortnight's post) I'm rejoicing that there is still so much of Eastertide left to celebrate. All I need is to be able to get to church before too long to celebrate with others. :-)

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I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.