Christ is risen! He is truly risen!
I took a hiatus from by blog during Holy Week and the days of Triduum to enter into the quiet and meditate on the great events of the Paschal mystery. Here we are now in Easter Week and I am one year older as of yesterday, the Feast of Fools, and as it so happens this year - Easter Monday. If anybody wants to do the math, I was born in 1964.
Today I showed my age by coming in late for Lauds...accidentally, of course. My clock radio/alarm was set but the volume was turned down so while it 'went off' at 5:10am I was awakened by the bells for Lauds at 6:30. I knew I had less than 3 minutes to get to chapel so the adrenaline rush got me out of bed at least.
This has happened to me twice in my monastic life - which covers a 20 year time span so that isn't too bad a record. On one occasion I dashed out of bed with my heart a pumpin', threw some clothes on and ran (as fleet as a deer) down the halls and arrived in chapel with about 30 seconds to spare. The other previous time I lay in bed and said, "I'm never going to make it, now" so I decided to sleep a little longer.
Today, I knew I wouldn't make it but I am the organist so I knew showing up late was better than not showing up at all. It's amazing how you can't find things right in front of your face when you are in a hurry. My hair was a bit askew and I couldn't find my emblem (it was sitting in plain sight on my sink) but I managed to look at least presentable. I did not rush madly down the stairs, (I'm more dignified in my 'old' age) but I did make it to chapel by the end of the opening hymn. Apparently there was an awkward silence after the bells stopped ringing, which is when the organ usually intones "O Lord open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise." Sisters were looking over at the organ wondering why nothing was happening. Sr. Cheryl, another organist, covered things over by going to the piano and beginning Lauds when she realized I wasn't there. Sr. Nancy Rose who is taking lessons to play the organ, was just hoping she didn't have to play because she hasn't learned the Lauds Office, yet.
I sheepishly strode in, signaled Cheryl I was there and was on the organ bench for the 2nd psalm. Even St. Benedict in his holy Rule has a chapter on tardiness at the Work of God so things haven't changed much in 1500 years since he lived.
Thanks be to God my alarm did go off at 3:10am on Easter Sunday morning. Our Easter Vigil began at the un-Godly hour of 4 am. There is a reason I did not become a Trappistine - I didn't want to get up every morning to pray Vigils at 3:30am! Usually I don't sleep well on a night like that because I'm worried I won't hear my alarm and I usually set another one as a back up. But my alarm went off like it was supposed to. I went down for just a bit of coffee to help the wake up process and stuck my head out the door to get a take on the early morning weather. There had been a chance of rain. It was chilly, but the stars were bright, the moon was shining, a great horned owl called into the night and the Spring Peepers were singing down in our lower pond.
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| Spring Peepers |
As I stood there listening I smiled to myself and said, "It's a good day to rise...It's a good day to rise."
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