Christ is Risen!

A few decades ago, were you to address one of the faithful with the Paschal greeting (Christ is risen!) after the apodosis of the feast, during the condolences for a brother’s death, for example, a startled look on his face would betray his bewilderment! Nowadays, many people started racing to throw off the greeting at different times. By nature, the victory of Pascha remains always with us to strengthen us with consolation, peace and joy. This was the purpose of digging this greeting out of the old tradition so that we all ascend, in times of sorrow and even in all times, to the fact that death, our own death, “is swallowed up in victory”. I may have mentioned to you before that most of the credit for digging out this greeting goes to some brethren priests in our Church from the villages of Mount Lebanon (Aley and Bhamdoun…) two of whom have preceded us to the ultimate Pascha. May God have mercy on those who have preceded us, and may He strengthen those who still want us to cultivate in the midst of our day, with greater emphasis, that He Who raised Jesus wants to give life to our mortal bodies through His Living Spirit.