…or even the Peeps.

Those are all fun, and we enjoy them, but they’re really not the reason we celebrate this day.

They’re not the reason we all gathered last evening and watched Big Brother light the Easter fire. How cool is THAT? Big Brother’s Boy Scout troop is charged with building the Easter fire this year for the parish. Let me tell you, Boy Scouts know how to build fires. This was no wimpy little flame. People had to back up when this fire got going.

One thing I missed this year at Easter Mass was the empty tomb. Above is last year’s tomb. We’ve had one like it in our parish as long as I’ve been there, and probably for much longer than that. But there was no tomb this year; no place to pause after Mass and reflect on the wonderful gift we remember today.

Father Tom, OFM’s, homily for the day is here.

Father Martin Fox’s homily for the day is here.

Father Daren Zehnle’s Easter Vigil homily is here.

Father J.C. Maximilian’s homily is here.

I’m glad that I was needed in the choir for yesterday’s noon Mass. I love Easter Vigil, and it’s nice to sit with my family, but I needed to do the music on Sunday. It just completed Easter for me.

Sunday’s noon Mass was a full house–standing room only, even in the choir! Since I pretty much only sit during the homily, I gave up my chair to someone else and sat on the bench at the window at that time. I was happy that there were so many who wanted to rejoice by raising our voices! We had lots of little ones in the choir too–one member had her baby twin boys, who made some quiet “happy baby noises” and were very good and of course very cute; one of the kids in the choir was visited frequently by her little sister, who would wander over from the nearby pew where the rest of the family sat, and our music leader’s toddler was there as well. We’re family-friendly in this choir, and that’s really nice.

Father reminded all of us that our most important job on Easter is to renew our baptismal promises, and that despite the fact that “Catholics are really good at mumbling,” he expected us to do that with great enthusiasm. He also invited us to get a good look at the Empty Tomb. And that’s another reason I was glad I came back on Sunday. The tomb was even more beautiful with the light streaming through the stained-glass window behind it. But the most beautiful thing about the empty tomb is what it represents.

Easter has brought a reminder to Meritt that her children are getting older:

As I glance over towards the kitchen I see four Easter baskets lined up in a row. Little yellow Peeps sticking out the top smiling at me.

Where are the children that belong to these baskets?

Asleep.

Long gone are the days of children waking at the crack of dawn to sneak down the stairs to see if the Easter Bunny had come and left them a basket of goodies.

I only had one child who is excited enough about Easter to start hopping around the house before it’s even light out. No one else even wants to wake up.

Little Brother conked out about 3 readings into the Easter Vigil last night. We were ready for that, and had a blanket to pad the pew. He didn’t move a muscle for the rest of the Mass, and it took me and one of the deacons’ wives to get him into his coat so I could take him home (it was below freezing out, so I had to have the coat on him!) He slept all night in his Easter clothes. Since he had fallen asleep at about his regular time, he was up before 7 and bouncing even before he had broken into his Peeps!

Middle Sister is starting to be jaded about the whole thing. She was excited to have a basket, but rolled her eyes a little at the idea of finding her candy-filled eggs. In fact, one egg is still At Large, somewhere in the dining room.

The Easter Bunny didn’t even bother hiding Big Brother’s eggs. They’re just piled up in his basket.

And Mrs. Easter Bunny thought of a new twist on what to put in the baskets this year. We don’t go whole hog on the baskets with elaborate gifts, though the kids did receive the new Veggie Tales video. Instead, along with the obligatory Peeps and small chocolate bunny, each child received something they had given up for Lent.

For Little Brother, that was a big tub of colored sprinkles to top his favorite (vanilla) ice cream. Middle Sister found a bottle of orange soda, and for Big Brother, who had given up ice cream, there was a box of Waffle Cones. He knows there’s a carton of his favorite (Rocky Road) ice cream in the freezer already.

All of the kids were more excited about these gifts based on their Lenten sacrifices, than anything else in the baskets or hidden eggs. I thought that was pretty cool. So even if two of my kids are getting too old for some of the Easter traditions, it looks like we may have started a new one.

Happy Easter!

Because only one “Alleluia” didn’t seem like enough.

Rejoice!