(Reposted from Kittigory) "Let Him Easter in us..."

These immortal words of Gerard Manley Hopkins, from his poem "The Wreck of the Deutschland", are a reminder of the meaning of Easter for those of use who follow the Christian faith.  It is a time of resurrection, symbolic of hope...you know, that emotion Emily Dickinson describes as "the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul". 

I'll share another Hopkins poem with you, one written for the season, and wish for you and yours the joy and peace the season means to bring.  Let the sacrifice and pain of One long gone give you renewed hope for the life you must lead daily, and renewed strength to meet its challenges with grace and serenity!

Happy Easter, everyone!  *hugs*

Easter Communion

Pure fasted faces draw unto this feast: 
God comes all sweetness to your Lenten lips.
You striped in secret with breath-taking whips, 
Those crooked rough-scored chequers may be pieced
To crosses meant for Jesu's; you whom the East 
With draught of thin and pursuant cold so nips
Breathe Easter now; you serged fellowships, 
You vigil-keepers with low flames decreased, 

God shall o'er-brim the measures you have spent
With oil of gladness, for sackcloth and frieze
And the ever-fretting shirt of punishment
Give myrrhy-threaded golden folds of ease.
Your scarce-sheathed bones are weary of being bent: 
Lo, God shall strengthen all the feeble knees. 

~ Gerard Manley Hopkins