Alleluia is the perfect song for Easter and thousands of hymns are based on its meaning: Praise the Lord! Musical settings of the Alleluia are generally upbeat and joyous in tone, trumpeting God's praise. But there's one famous setting that's more pensive and plaintive: Alleluia by Randal Thompson (1899-1984). We're fortunate to have a recording of Thompson's explanation for the mood of his pice and I encourage you to listen to the background he offers us.
We would also do well to recall the oft quoted phrase from Saint John Paul II: We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song! Saint JP spoke these words in a speech on November 30, 1986 - not in the Easter season - when he said:
We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery — the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. ‘We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!’ We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the fundamental duty of love of neighbor, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of Joy.I also encourage you to this evening's music (Thompson's Alleluia) before and/or while - or after you turn to Night Prayer.
Alleluia by Randall Thompson
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We are an Easter people,
Alleluia is our song
- but that's not always how I feel, Lord,
that's not always what I sing...
So help me learn to praise you, Lord
- help me learn to Alleluia -
when I need to praise your name
both in good times and in bad,
in sorrow and in joy
- Alleluia!
in sickness and in health,
in my ups and in my downs
- Alleluia!
in the sunshine and the storm,
in my pain and in my healing
- Alleluia!
in my want, in my abundance,
in my laughter and my tears
- Alleluia!
on the smooth road and the rocky,
on the hilltops, in the valleys,
- Alleluia!
when I know just where I'm going,
when I'm lost and all alone
- Alleluia!
in my failures and successes,
in my rising and my falling,
- Alleluia!
when I'm lost and when I'm found,
when I'm dancing, when I'm grieving,
- Alleluia!
in my coming and my going,
in my dying and my rising -
Alleluia! Praise the Lord!
Alleluia! Praise my God!
I am healed by Easter peace
and Alleluia is my song!
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
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