Alleluia Is Our Song!

Happy Easter! Alleluia!

I've been going overboard on saying "Alleluia" for the last few days now that we're finally allowed to say it again! (For those who might not know, Catholics take out the "Alleluia" and the "Gloria" from Mass during Lent - those are joyful, celebratory words/songs, and Lent is a much more solemn time.)

"Alleluia" is a Latin word meaning "God be praised". Because of the incredible joy that comes with the Easter season, we'll be hearing this word a lot between now and Pentecost (50 days after Easter). At the end of Mass, which we can still celebrate through live-streams until we're allowed to gather in person again, the final blessing sounds a little different than it usually does.

The priest or deacon will say: "The Mass has ended. Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia!"

And we respond:

"Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia!"

We praise God over and over again during this season, as we should. Jesus literally trolled death itself! Without his death and Resurrection, heaven wouldn't even be a possibility for us.

Seriously. Did you know that people didn't go to heaven before Jesus died? Before that, when someone died, their soul would be in "limbo", basically in a spiritual waiting room. Then, when Jesus died, it was like the gates of heaven finally opened up. The souls of everyone who had died could finally get into heaven. It was Jesus's sacrifice that gave us the gift of heaven.

Alleluia! That's definitely something worth praising God for!

One of my favorite saints, St. John Paul II, was famous for telling people not to be afraid. He has so many quotes that involve the phrase "do not be afraid" or "be not afraid", because he recognized that Jesus's victory already won the battle between good and evil. Jesus won. Alleluia! Death, sin, and darkness have nothing on us.

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” - St. John Paul II

This quote is especially relatable for the world right now. The longer this pandemic goes on, the more people seem to lose hope and "abandon [themselves] to despair", like St. John Paul II says. We have just about no control over our lives at the moment, and everything is so unpredictable.

What St. John Paul II wants to remind us of, though, is one of the few things we know for sure - Jesus wins. We win through Him. All of the things that are out of our control, which seem to be so important at the moment, won't matter at the end of our lives. Knowing that we are victorious in the end, no matter what we go through now, is the key to living a joyful life.

"We are an Easter people". What does this mean? What does it take to be "Easter people"? Simple: living every day with the memory of Easter in mind. Knowing that we're on the winning team. Not letting fear hold us back from being fully alive.

(Shoutout to my cool sis Monica for the pic!)

Yesterday, I babysat my 2-year-old ("ALMOST 3, Melissa!" as I've been reminded many times) cousin and goddaughter, Araceli. My sisters were binge-watching a throwback Disney Channel show in the other room, and after hearing the theme song over and again, she asked me why they had to play that song every single time. I then had to explain (in tiny person language) that it was the theme song, and that it sets the mood for the whole show. Hearing it at the beginning of each episode reminds us what the show is about and how it makes us feel.

What would happen if we, the Easter people, made "Alleluia" our theme song? What if each episode of our life was based on that simple "Alleluia", or "God be praised", that reminds us that we're on the winning team and that we have nothing to be afraid of?

Let's let "Alleluia" be our theme song, not just during Easter, but through the rest of our lives. Be not afraid! Alleluia!

What can you praise God for today? Discuss in the comments!