"The Lord is risen, alleluia!"

There are so many things that are beautiful about being a religious during the Paschal Triduum.  The changes in the life during this time - holy water fonts are emptied, common devotional practices are done in private, the Divine Office as it is stripped down to its bare essentials - show forth just how important these elements are to the life.  Yet, when these things begin to come back at the Easter Vigil - as our cappas are shed, the darkness is scattered by the light that comes with the Gloria, and the organ once again sounds forth - this is not the end of the richness of a Dominican Holy Week.  For the Triduum continues as the Paschal Candle, lit at the Vigil, will burn through the night until the end of Vespers on Easter Sunday.  And so we can look to the first moments of the liturgy on Easter Sunday to see even more beautiful elements that affect our life.

The words "The Lord is risen, alleluia" come at the beginning of the Divine Office on Easter Sunday.  Now, while these words aren't different for Dominicans than in the Roman rite, they do carry a special meaning for Dominicans.  For us, these words sung during the context of the Paschal Triduum carry a meaning which guides our life - the proclamation of the Truth, who is Christ, and that He is risen.  In other words, on Easter Sunday morning in the liturgy itself, when Dominicans pray the words, "The Lord is risen, alleluia", they are actually carrying out their vocation as preachers.  In the midst of the liturgy, the public worship of the Church, and in the act of singing these words, Dominicans live out their calling.  They preach the Truth of Christ.  And they act faithfully to their charism to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ, and that He was crucified and has died, but that He is now risen indeed.  And so for the members of the Order of Preachers, Easter Sunday is more than just a day to proclaim a new creation in Christ.  It is a day in which we celebrate the first fruits of the Resurrection by carrying out our heavenly calling as Dominicans and as preachers of the Truth who is the risen Christ.  For, "The Lord is risen, alleluia!"