Quotation

Most of the young poets I read appear to have little sense of the sound words make, and I wonder whether they read their own poems aloud.

May Sarton, At Seventy : A Journal (Norton, 1984), p. 318

Lemonade! Huzzah!

I have just received the Lemonade Stand Award from Sharon of clairity currents! I am most grateful!

And accordingly, I nominate the following five for the Lemonade Stand Award, for bloggers "whose posting demonstrates great attitude and gratitude":

Sancta Sanctis

Video meliora, proboque; deteriora sequor

For Keats' Sake!

Enchiridion

Eve Tushnet

Oh, yes, the rules!

1) Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post.

2) Nominate at least 5 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude (half of the original 10)

3) Link to your nominees within your post.

4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5) Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

I feel so extraordinary, something's got a hold on me

An '80s flashback :

To Blossoms

by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

Fair pledges of a fruitful tree,
      Why do ye fall so fast?
      Your date is not so past,
But you may stay yet here awhile
      To blush and gently smile,
            And go at last.

What, were ye born to be
      An hour or half's delight,
      And so to bid good-night?
'Twas pity Nature brought ye forth
      Merely to show your worth,
            And lose you quite.

But you are lovely leaves, where we
      May read how soon things have
      Their end, though ne'er so brave:
And after they have shown their pride
      Like you, awhile, they glide
            Into the grave.


_______________


(courtesy of blog-reader Maria H.; many thanks!)

Prayer

by Saint Anselm of Canterbury (+1109)

God, whose goodness is not exhausted, whose mercy is not emptied out, whose knowledge does not fail, whose power can effect what you will; whence shall I ever be able to get back life, who have thus been driven desperate by my sins? For if you are angry against sinners, at least, kind Lord, you are accustomed to give counsel to those who plead with you. Teach me, O Lord, whence I ought to hope, so that I can pray. For I long to pray to you; but I neither know how because of my ignorance, nor am I able to because of my hardness. And I am forbidden to do it by despair because of my sins. I seek for something that will excuse me, and there is nothing that does not accuse me. I seek for someone who will pray for me, and I find whatever exists is against me. I seek for someone to have mercy upon a wretch, and all that has being opposes the wretch.

Jesus, good Lord, why did you come down from heaven, what did you do in the world, to what end did you give yourself over to death, unless it was that you might save sinners? Saint Paul, what did you teach when you were passing through the world? God, and his apostles, and you most of all, invite us sinners to faith; you show us this as our only safe refuge. How then should I not hope, if I believe this, and ask in this faith? How can this hope be frustrated in me, if that faith does not fail me from which it was born?

Seven random quick snippets

(Inspired by the 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.)

7.

Didn't do much reading yesterday, a little C S Lewis, and some Eric Milner-White : two of the RCAs (Really Cool Anglicans).

6.

They kicked the last female performer off American Idol Wednesday night. I'm not as committed to it this year, but I guess I'm hoping that Adam wins, faute de mieux. I'm still smarting over Syesha's third-place finish last year.

5.

It was in town for about one week, and I didn't get to see it. The Edge of Love, a film about Dylan Thomas, starring Welsh actor Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters). If critics are reliable, I'm not missing a great picture. Still, I would like to see it.

4.

The cost of a postage stamp goes up Monday. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get some Forever Stamps before then.

3.

Song going through my head --

E volavo volavo felice più in alto del sole ed ancora più su,
mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiù,
una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me ...

Volare ... oh, oh! ...
cantare ... oh, oh, oh, oh!

2.

May Sarton in her journal At Seventy wonders if she will ever see her late mother again. She writes that she doesn't believe in an afterlife. "But one wonders." Six pages later, the Unitarian writer refers to something happening "by chance, or with the guardian angel's help." Sarton was also in the habit of commemorating All Souls' Day! Interesting.

1.

OK, it's five o'clock, and I'm awake. What do I do now?

Litany of an Expiant

by Eric Milner-White (1884-1963)

Jesu, Creator,
      Recreate and renew me.

Jesu, Saviour,
      Save me from sin,
      Save me from self.

Jesu, High Priest,
      Pity me,
      Plead for me,
      Pardon and purify me.

Jesu, Prophet,
      Waken and warn me.

Jesu, King,
      Rule me.

Jesu, the Way,
Jesu, my friend,
      Go with me always.

Jesu, the Truth,
      Teach me, counsel me,
      Make me all true.

Jesu, true Light,
      Scatter my darkness.

Jesu, true Bread,
      Strengthen my weakness.

Jesu, good Shepherd,
      Lead me and feed me.

Jesu, the Life,
      Live in me always,
            that I may adore thee,
            my Lord and my God,
                  evermore. Amen.

Eric Milner-White, My God My Glory : Aspirations, Acts, and Prayers on the desire for God (Triangle/SPCK, 1994), p. 40

Marianne Moore for the month of May

In a reading of my verse for a women's club, I included these lines from "Tell me, tell me":

I vow, rescued tailor
        of Gloucester, I am going
    to flee: by engineering strategy --
    the viper's traffic-knot -- flee
to metaphysical newmown hay,
honeysuckle or woods fragrance. ...

After the program, a strikingly well-dressed member of the audience, with equally positive manner, inquired, "What is metaphysical newmown hay?"

I said, "Oh, something like a sudden whiff of fragrance in contrast with the doggedly continuous opposition to spontaneous conversation that had gone before." "Then why don't you say so?" the impressive lady rejoined.

from "A Burning Desire to Be Explicit," in The Complete Prose of Marianne Moore (Penguin, 1987), pp. 606-7.

Self-Examination

by Eric Milner-White (1884-1963)

Help me, O Holy Spirit, to search and question myself,
        and honestly to answer:
Am I single-minded in seeking my God?
        in serving him? even in praying to him?
Do I put GOD first in deed? in intention?
        or even in desire? in hope?
What reserves do I always maintain against him?
        what other loves cling to?
Is not self-regard my prevailing motive,
        secret, silent, undetectable, insatiable?
Where do I serve self in daily conduct,
        when I should be serving others?
        when I should be serving GOD?
Do I obey self even in the most inward spiritual things?
        in the exercise of holy ministries?
                even in the holiest place?

Search me thyself, O GOD,
        seek the grounds of my heart;
Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me,
        any subservience to mine ease,
        any hungering and playing for mine own honour.
Help, O help me slay my self-regard,
        the foe that is in myself and of myself,
            and to want to slay it.
O Saviour of the world,
    who by thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us,
save me and help me,
            I humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Eric Milner-White, My God My Glory : Aspirations, Acts, and Prayers on the desire for God (Triangle/SPCK, 1994), p. 31

Repentance

by Eric Milner-White (1884-1963)

LORD, when for joy I seek thy Presence,
        give me a godly sorrow for my sins;
        yea, and for my righteousness also.

O Lord that my sins may be covered,
        strengthen me to uncover them
                honestly, unsparingly,
                before thine infinite love.

Let my heart with all its secrets
        be thrown as open to thee
                as thy mercies to me.

May I never confess my faults
        with no purpose to leave them
        nor make half-repentances,
                lest I make none.

Rather let me lift up to thee
        all my prides and shames,
                the stubborn and the small,
                the recurrent and the continuous,
        that they may be buried low,
                and have no resurrection.

from My God My Glory : Aspirations, Acts, and Prayers on the desire for God (Triangle/SPCK, 1994) p. 30

Issue 2

The second issue of The Christendom Review, edited by Richard Barnett and William Luse, has appeared online.

It's not quite as strange as, let us say, Neil Sedaka doing "Straight Outta Compton"

... but it's close.

(Hat tip : Summa Minutiae.)

Obituary

RIP Jack Kemp (1935-2009).

Demon squid

From the Magnificat prayer booklet, May 2009, p. 40 :

SAINT BRIEUC (BRIOCUS)
Abbot (6th century)

Brieuc, of Cardiganshire, Wales, is said to have been born to pagan parents who permitted him to be raised as a Catholic after being admonished to do so in a dream. Following Brieuc's ordination to the priesthood in France, he returned home and converted his parents. Attracting a large following of disciples, Brieuc set sail again for France to found a religious community for his followers. Their ship is said to have been halted at one point by demonic interference in the form of a large sea monster (it may have been the deep sea creature known as the giant squid). Brieuc's prayers made the creature vanish. [...]

Britain's new poet laureate

... is a woman, Carol Ann Duffy.

(A modified hat tip to TSO, who told me there was a new laureate in the UK, but didn't say who.)

"thicket and thorp are merry"

Dr McNamara blogs Hopkins' May Magnificat.

Seven quick takes

7.

I did not watch either the Sox or the Celtics last night, just checked on the scores occasionally. Sox got hammered, were on the losing end of a 13-0 one-hitter. The Rays pitcher carried a perfect game into the seventh. Celtics and Bulls went into overtime, yet again, double overtime, triple overtime, before the Bulls won by one.

:: :: :: :: ::

6.

I should start the coffee.

:: :: :: :: ::

5.

Still haven't gotten the haircut. Don't know if I'll have the chance today. I begin to look like a Beatle circa 1969.

:: :: :: :: ::

4.

Mary Oliver has a whole lot of books. One is a hardcover featuring photographs by her late partner. One book has aphorisms and "short takes" -- sort of like this, but shorter! -- called "sand dabs." And she has a new collection of poetry called Evidence.

:: :: :: :: ::

3.

In the basement of the Harvard Book Store, I saw Arthur Rimbaud's collection of prose poems Illuminations priced at $2. I didn't get it, in large part because my Rimbaud phase -- adolescence -- is long since over and done with. But Rimbaud's book was one of the first three books of poems I ever bought; the other two were T S Eliot's Four Quartets and, at the recommendation of an English teacher, Seamus Heaney's Field Work. 1984 or 1985.

:: :: :: :: ::

2.

Morning prayer. Doesn't happen, when it happens, until I've been awake for at least an hour. I need a little caffeine for the concentration that the Magnificat booklet requires.

Just got the June issue in the mail. It features artwork by Salvador Dalí! Update, 8 am: No, it's not the June issue that has the Dalí; it's the Holy Week issue.

:: :: :: :: ::

1.

Exspectans exspectavi! Eagerly awaiting the results of Enchiridion's sonnet contest.

==============

This meme originates at Conversion Diary.

"intellectual lint"

The line cracked me up.

Happy birthday and

happy blogoversary to the Trousered Ape, who celebrates with heroic couplets!

Quotation of note

The Epistle of James says that faith without works is a dead faith. A living faith always bears fruit in action, both personal and ecclesial. That's why we read the "Acts" of the Apostles, and not the "Interesting Ideas," "Pious Sentiments," or "Good Intentions" of the Apostles. Words are easy. Action counts.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., Living the Catholic Faith : Rediscovering the Basics (Charis Press, 2001), p. 51

Seven quick takes?

(Spotted here, but apparently the meme originates here.)

7. I could use a nap.

6. An Extraordinary Gathering of Angels, edited by Margaret Barker, is a marvelous compendium of art, iconography, and poetry about the angels. A mini-museum! A revelation and a visual delight.

5. It's in the 60s where I am, with a cool breeze, but the sun is strong. The weather forecasters are saying that this weekend's sun will be of mid-August intensity; and they counsel the use of sunscreen.

4. There's a rally going on right now at Faneuil Hall to "save the Boston Globe," a paper which is in financial peril.

3. Yankees vs Red Sox tonight at Fenway! First time this season.

2. The month of April has just flown by. The May flowers are already here!

1. Three cheers for subterranean bookstores!

:: :: :: :: ::

Did I do this right?

The Flower

by George Herbert (1593-1633)

      How fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean
Are thy returns! ev’n as the flowers in spring;
      To which, besides their own demean,
The late-past frosts tributes of pleasure bring.
                  Grief melts away
                  Like snow in May,
      As if there were no such cold thing.

      Who would have thought my shrivel’d heart
Could have recover’d greennesse? It was gone
      Quite under ground; as flowers depart
To see their mother-root, when they have blown;
                  Where they together
                  All the hard weather,
      Dead to the world, keep house unknown.

      These are thy wonders, Lord of power,
Killing and quickning, bringing down to hell
      And up to heaven in an houre;
Making a chiming of a passing-bell,
                  We say amisse,
                  This or that is:
      Thy word is all, if we could spell.

      O that I once past changing were;
Fast in thy Paradise, where no flower can wither!
      Many a spring I shoot up fair,
Offring at heav’n, growing and groning thither:
                  Nor doth my flower
                  Want a spring-showre,
      My sinnes and I joining together;

      But while I grow to a straight line;
Still upwards bent, as if heav’n were mine own,
      Thy anger comes, and I decline:
What frost to that? what pole is not the zone,
                  Where all things burn,
                  When thou dost turn,
      And the least frown of thine is shown?

      And now in age I bud again,
After so many deaths I live and write;
      I once more smell the dew and rain,
And relish versing: O my onely light,
                  It cannot be
                  That I am he
      On whom thy tempests fell all night.

      These are thy wonders, Lord of love,
To make us see we are but flowers that glide:
      Which when we once can finde and prove,
Thou hast a garden for us, where to bide.
                  Who would be more,
                  Swelling through store,
      Forfeit their Paradise by their pride.

Spring

by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89)

Nothing is so beautiful as spring --
    When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
    Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
    The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
    The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.

What is all this juice and all this joy?
    A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden. -- Have, get, before it cloy,
    Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
    Most, O maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning.

Current reading

I hate to do this, but I have to warn the potential reader about My Life with the Saints by Fr James Martin, SJ. While there is no doubt that Fr Martin is an intelligent, accessible, engaging, self-deprecating, humorous, and utterly readable writer, there is at least one passage in his book that deviates from Catholic orthodoxy.

During his chapter on St Ignatius of Loyola, Fr Martin speaks of experiences that draw a soul closer to God. He mentions that a beautiful sunset can cause our minds to turn to the Author of creation, and we concur. He goes on to say that "an intimate encounter with a spouse or partner" can bring us to a greater awareness of the Source of all Love (p. 89, emphasis mine).

Or partner. We really do get enough of this stuff from other places, from the Henri Nouwen of Sabbatical Journey (an otherwise magnetizing book), from "progressive" Episcopalians, and from Andrew Sullivan.

I am assuming that "an intimate encounter" means sexual congress, or some other less explicit erotic experience. And I am further assuming that "partner" does not mean "business partner," but rather "companion of the same sex."

To the orthodox Christian, specifically, to the Catholic, "intimate encounters" with "partners" must be eschewed. Loving God entails keeping the commandments. The full implications of the commandments are admirably exposited in the recently promulgated Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Again, one hesitates to sound like Pat Buchanan or the Marquess of Queensberry, condemning sins to which we are not tempted ourselves. But one does expect orthodoxy from a Catholic priest. Are we being foolishly optimistic?

A further caveat: One of the "saints" in Fr Martin's communion is Thomas Merton, and while we have profited from Merton's books in the past, and often return to them in the present, we begin to think that his beleaguered abbot is a much more fitting candidate for sainthood!

(I did read many of the customer reviews for My Life with the Saints on amazon.com : a saddening uniformity of five-star reviews accompanied by the most elate encomiastic exclamations. And no reviewer seems to have noticed the phrasing on page 89.)

Fr Martin is a first-rate writer, and I was enjoying his book quite a bit -- until the obtrusion of his tenth-rate moral theology. A shame.

Are you from Massachusetts?

Some indicators:

1. The Red Sox World Series win was, and will always be, one of the greatest moments in your life.

2. The guy driving in front of you is going 70 mph and you're swearing at him for going too slow.

3. When ordering a tonic, you mean a Coke.

4. You went to Canobie Lake Park or Water Country as a kid.

5. You actually enjoy driving around rotaries.

6. You do not recognize the letter 'R' as a part of the English language.

7. Your social security number starts with a zero.

8. You can actually find your way around the streets of Boston.

9. You know what a 'regular' coffee is.

10. You keep an ice scraper in your car year-round.

11. You can tell the difference between a Revere accent and a Dorchester accent.

12. Springfield is located 'way out west.'

13. You almost feel disappointed if someone doesn't flip you the bird when you cut them off or steal their parking space.

14. You know how to pronounce the names of towns like Worcester, Billerica, Gloucester, Peabody and Haverhill.

15. Anyone you don't know is a potential idiot until proven otherwise.

16. Paranoia sets in if you can't see a Dunkin Donuts or CVS Pharmacy within eyeshot at all times.

17. You have driven to New Hampshire on a Sunday just to buy alcohol.

18. You know how to pronounce Yastrzemski.

19. You know there's a trophy at the end of the Bean Pot.

20. You order iced coffee in January.

21. You know that the Purple Line will take you anywhere.

22. You love scorpion bowls.

23. You know what they sell at a Packie.

24. Sorry Manny, but number 24 means DEWEY EVANS.

25. You know what First Night is.

26. You know at least one guy named Sean, Pat, Whitey, Red, Bud or Seamus. Bonus: You know how to pronounce Seamus.

27. McLobster = 3-D McCrap

28. You know at least 2 cops in your town because they were your high school drinking buddies.

29. You know there are 6 New England states, but that Connecticut really doesn't count.

30. You give incomprehensible directions to tourists, feel bad when they drive off, but then say to yourself 'Ah, screw them.'

31. You know at least one bar where you can get something to drink after last call.

32. You hate the Kennedys, but you vote for them anyway.

33. You know holding onto the railing when riding the Green Line is not optional.

34. The numbers '78 and '86 make you cringe.

35. You've been to Goodtimes.

36. You think the rest of the country owes you for Thanksgiving and Independence Day. (...and they DO)

37. You have never actually been to 'Cheers.'

38. The words 'WICKED' and 'GOOD' go together.

39. You've been to Fenway Park.

40. You've gone to at least one party at UMass.

41. You own a 'Yankees Suck' shirt or hat.

42. You know what a Frappe is.

43. You've been to Hempfest.

44. You know who Frank Avruch is.

45. You know Frank Avruch was once Bozo the Clown

46. You can complete the following: 'Lynn, Lynn .....'

47. You get pissed off when a restaurant serves clam chowder, and it turns out to be Snows.

48. You actually know how to merge from six lanes of traffic down to one.

49. The TV weatherman is damn good if he's right 25% of the time.

50. You never go to Cape Cod,' you go 'down the Cape'.

51. You think that Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon are more evil than Whitey Bulger.

52. You know who Whitey Bulger is.

53. You went to the Swan Boats, House of Seven Gables, or Plimoth Plantation on a field trip in elementary school.

54. Bobby Orr is loved as much as Larry Bird, Tom Brady, and Ted Williams.

55. You remember Major Mudd.

56. You know what candlepin bowling is.

57. You can drive from the mountains to the ocean all in one day.

58. You know Scollay Square once stood where Government Center is.

59. When you were a kid, Rex Trailer was the coolest guy around.

60. Speaking of which.... You can still hum the song from the end of Boom Town

61. Calling Carrabba's an 'Italian' restaurant is sacrilege.

62. You still have your old Flexible Flyer somewhere in your parents' attic.

63. You know that route 128 is some kind of strange weather dividing line. snow/rain

64. The only time you've been on the Freedom Trail is when relatives are in town.

65. The Big Dig tunnel disaster wasn't a surprise.

66. You call guys you've just met 'Chief' or 'Boss.'

67. 4:15pm and pitch black out means only 3 more shopping days until Christmas.

68. You know more than one person with the last name Murphy.

69. You refer to Savin Hill as 'Stab 'n Kill.'

70. You've never eaten at Durgin Park, but recommend it to tourists.

71. You can't look at the zip code 02134 without singing it.

72. You voted for a Republican Mormon as Governor just to screw with the rest of the country.

73 11 pm? Drunk? It means one thing: Kowloons!

74. 2 am? Drunk? It means one thing: Kelly's! The one on Revere Beach not the one on Route 1.

75. 5 am? Drunk? It means one thing: You wish you had a blanket in your back seat.

76. You know that P-Town isn't the name of a new rap group.

77. People you don't like are all 'Bastids.'

78. You took off school or work for the Patriots first Super Bowl Win Parade.

79. You've called something 'wicked pissa'.

80. You'll always get razzed for Dukakis.

81. Saturday afternoons meant Creature Double Feature with Dale Dorman.

82. Sunday mornings meant the Three Stooges on Channel 38.

83. You've slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgater.

84. No, you don't trust the Gorton's Fisherman.

85. You know that Papa Gino's usually has a jukebox.

86. You think Aerosmith is the greatest rock band of all time

87. Your town has at least 6 pizza and roast beef shops.

88. You know at least three Tony's, one Vinnie and a Frankie.

89. 20 degrees is downright balmy as long as there is no wind -- then it gets wicked cold.

90. You were very sad when saying goodbye to the Boston Garden.

91. Thanksgiving means family, turkey, High School football, and the long version of Alice's Restaurant.

92. You know the guy who founded the Boston Pops was named Athah Feedlah.

93. You know what the Combat Zone is.

94. You actually drive 45 minutes to New Hampshire to save $5 in sales tax.

95. You've pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left.

96. You've bragged about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop.

97. You've been to Hampton Beach on a Saturday night.

98. Playing street hockey was a daily after school ritual.

99. Hearing an old lady shout 'Numbah 96 for Sioux City!' means it's time for steak.

100. You remember Jordan Marsh, Filene's, Grants, Bradlees, Caldor, Zayres, or Ann & Hope.

101. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Massachusetts.

Heaney at 70

A Festschrift at the Irish Times.

Are you a right-wing extremist?

Do you favor local authority over federal authority?

Do you oppose abortion?

Well, you might be a right-wing extremist!

The blogger at Vivificat! points us toward a disturbing document from the Obama administration.

(I might be in deep trouble. I voted for Ron Paul in last year's Republican primaries!)

Get your adverbs here

One of today's Google Quotes of the Day is from Stephen King: "The road to hell is paved with adverbs."

He may be right. Then again, note the delicacy of the adverbs in this poem by Edward Estlin Cummings, a signpost, I would say, on the road to heaven.

Three trivial items

... that have nothing to do with poetry or religion!

Trivial item #1: I hereby declare that Rubber Soul and Revolver were both better albums than Sgt. Pepper. And none can controvert!

Trivial item #2: My favorite misheard lyric of all time: "People love bagels!" (for Elvis's "Viva Las Vegas!") I think I prefer the bagel version!

Trivial item #3: Continuing in the pop-music-of-past-years theme. Surnames that, I always felt, sounded a bit "fake": Jagger, Benatar, Gore (Lesley or Al).

Quotation from current reading

As long as we remain sheep, we overcome. Even though we may be surrounded by a thousand wolves, we overcome and are victorious. But as soon as we are wolves, we are beaten: for then we lose the support from the Shepherd who feeds not wolves, but only sheep.

St John Chrysostom, from Homily 34 on St Matthew

(via Thomas Merton's Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, pp. 44-45 in my old copy)

Happy birthday!

This poet turns 70 today.

Easter

Let all then enter the joy of our Lord!

Both the first and the last and those who come after, enjoy your reward!

Rich and poor, dance with one another, sober and slothful, celebrate the day.

Those who have kept the fast and those who have not, rejoice today, for the table is richly spread.

Fare royally upon it -- the calf is a fatted one.

Let no one go away hungry.

All of you, enjoy the banquet of faith!

All enjoy the riches of his goodness.

Let no one cry over his poverty, for the universal Kingdom has appeared!

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again, for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free.

He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He spoiled the power of hell when he descended thereto.

Isaiah foretold this when he cried, Death has been frustrated in meeting him below!

It is frustrated, for it is destroyed.

It is frustrated, for it is annihilated.

It is frustrated, for now it is made captive.

For it grabbed a body and discovered God.

It took earth and behold! it encountered heaven.

It took what was visible, and was overcome by what was invisible.

O Death, where is your sting?

O Death, where is your victory?

Christ is risen,
and the demons are cast down.

Christ is risen,
and life is set free.

Christ is risen,
and the tomb is emptied of the dead.

For Christ, having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who sleep.

To him be glory and power forever and ever!

Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

From a sermon of St John Chrysostom