Christ in our midst →

At the Easter Vigil, after weeks of Lenten Masses without the Gloria, the priest intones the opening words: “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” Then, as the choir and the rest of the congregation join in, every bell in the church is rung, and, if the church has a bell tower, those bells are tolled, too. The return of the Gloria is a glorious thing (no pun intended), and the ringing of the bells invites all who can hear them, both inside and outside the Church (in both senses of both words), to join in the joy of Christ’s resurrection.

About two weeks ago, I wrote that “In times like these — but not only in times like these — we need more bells in our lives,” to remind us both of our mortality (“It tolls for thee”) but also of our hope in the Resurrection.

Be at my side →

In the Eastern Church, Catholic and Orthodox, the day after a major feast day is itself a special one. Known as the “leave-taking” of the feast, this day celebrates one or more of the saints who were involved in the event that the feast celebrates.

Thus March 26, the Leave-Taking of the Annunciation, is dedicated to the Archangel Gabriel, the messenger who announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that God had chosen her to bear his son.

She said ‘yes’ →

At noon Rome time, 7 a.m. here in Huntington, Indiana, Catholics around the world joined Pope Francis in praying the Our Father for an end to the current pandemic. On this solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, those words that we too often recite by rote took on a special meaning: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

‘Be still and know that I am God’ →

At midnight tonight, OSV headquarters will fall silent. In line with Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order, we have everyone who can work remotely doing so, while the production and distribution staff will take a much-needed rest after weeks of producing as much as possible, in preparation for a shutdown.

In the midst of it all, I paused to read the psalm for today’s Mass. Psalm 46 seems eerily relevant to what the world is going through today: “God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.”