I was hoping to have got at least some sleep on Saturday evening; in the end we went to bed around midnight, but I couldn't sleep - I think I finally dropped off about 2am. This meant the 3.50 alarm was painful! Still,
atreic and I got ourselves out of bed, and cycled to LSM (it was surprisingly not-cold) in the dark. The Easter Vigil and First Mass at LSM is a service that's very difficult to describe - it's something you really have to experience. Good liturgy should involve many of the senses, and it certainly does that. The vigil starts in the dark, with four lessons, psalms and collects. The light in the pulpit focusses your attention (apt to wander after that little sleep) on the reader and thereby on what they are reading. We then go outside, holding unlit candles, and stand around a brazier in the churchyard, pouring out light, heat, and no little smoke. The Pascal candle is blessed, pierced with incense, lit and carried inside in procession, as the deacon proclaims "the light of Christ" three times. After the third time, that light is metaphorically shared as all our candles are lit; in the dim pre-dawn light, our little candles powerfully ward off the dark - the metaphor of Christian witness is clear.
We stand together like this while the Deacon sings the
exultet, a great (in every sense) hymn of praise. During this time, the other candles in the church are lit, and once the exultet is finished, the celebrant intones the beginning of the Gloria (slightly confusingly, he did so in Latin, after which we sang the rest in English). The lights in the church are switched on, everyone who has found a bell rings it as loudly as they can, Sarah goes crazy on the organ (a little diminished this year), and we sing the Gloria, which we haven't sung since Ash Wednesday "We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee...". The church is full of flowers, and the statues of saints are unveiled once more.
Before the gospel we have the
Triple Alleluia (I include the URL simply because it has the dots, which I might like to know for next year (thanks for the hint,
curig), because somehow anything less wouldn't do. The Mass continues, and daylight breaks around the time we break bread together and declare "Alleluia. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia." During the Mass, we have re-affirmed our baptismal vows, a suitable rounding-off of our keeping of Lent. Together we have celebrated (in its fullest sense) once again the resurrection of our Lord, and partaken of the Sacrament. How else would you want to mark Easter?
After all that, it was time for something to eat (and a glass of bucks fizz). Some noble soul had baked bread and roasted legs of lamb, so it was quite some breakfast. Annie marked her 21st birthday, so there was cake and singing (even if a certain someone picked a slightly optimistic key!). In the traditional manner, some of us decamped to Peterhouse MCR for a few (?!) glasses of Champagne courtesy of
robert_jones. The time shot by in pleasant conversation until it was time to return to LSM for the 10.30 High Mass. The church was packed. It was another great celebration, but never quite matches up to the earlier service. We did get to sing "Thine be the glory", though. I'm slightly surprised my voice held out through both services, to be honest. Afterwards, another glass of champagne, and a chance to chat to people in the garden.
naomir hosted lunch for myself,
atreic,
claroscuro,
senji,
curig,
caliston and
yrieithydd. There was a pre-prandial gin, soup (with a couple of glasses of a very pleasant English white), lamb with potatoes, garlic and spinich, shallots and some red wine, creme caramel, cheese and biscuits, coffee and port (and some sweet Greek red). A most excellent meal, and great company. The shortage of sleep kicked in a bit, but by the time it was time to leave I had perked up a bit.
I went back to Weathertop, faffed for a bit and then headed over to Caraway. We played some Knaves and drank tea; in due course
curig and
naomir arrived having been to E+B and we ate a little, drank some more champagne and played The Big Idea, which I lost dismally. I eventually made it home and to bed at around Midnight.
It really was the most excellent day; I'd been feeling a bit down towards the end of last week what with an awareness of how craply I've kept Lent, work-doom, wedding stress and so on. Today the sun is shining, and I feel somehow better able to cope with the world - even though I'm the only person in work today!
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-J-
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A rather uncertain someone, as I don't know the official key, but...
Note to self: pitch it in A flat next time – or possibly B flat if the giants are already awakened out of sleep and well refreshed with wine.
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