Christ is risen

in Orthodox Russia and Eastern Europe, the greeting today is "Christ is risen!", "He is risen indeed".

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?
Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns! 

A lot of people know about "Midnight mass" for Christmas, but there is also a midnight service on Easter. 

During the mass, the lights are put out, and one large candle is lit: and then the light from that candle is shared with others, until the entire church is bright with from the candles in the hands of the worshippers.

Photosource:https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/catholic-candles-liturgy/

The light shined in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it.

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But of course, in the Philippines, it is not just a solemn church service: we have a procession with singing and dancing too.

Before the Dawn mass, there is a procession remembering Jesus visiting his mother. Not in the Bible, but duh, of course a good Jewish boy would visit his mom first.

here is a fuzzy video of our church's Easter celebration





you can read about it HERE.

Salubong is a pre-dawn meeting of two processed images, one of the Risen Christ, and the other of a still-mourning Mary. The statue of Mary, covered in a black mourning dress, is carried by the women of the town along one route, along with statues of the saints who had been with Jesus in the days before and after his death...

The statue of the Risen Christ is carried by men along a different route. Crowds of people join both processions. Their destination is an outdoor stage, decorated for the occasion, where the images of Jesus and Mary meet.

when I arrived at mass at 5:30, the statues were parked behind the church all lit up, and the church was full and overflowing into the parking lots.

Here, people are pious, and we have men and women and kids in the same service. If the kid gets restless, no problem: Take them into the parking lot and let them run around. The vendors outside will even sell them toys and snacks, and sell the moms Sampagita to place on the graves or hang them on the holy statues or on the photos of one's loved ones.

Photo: Pinterest

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