Alleluia! He is still risen as He said!

Happy Easter Thursday! This octave is flying by, but each day is part of our Easter Solemnity - one long alleluia, one long rejoicing, one long Day of Resurrection!

I've been noticing that each of our liturgies this week includes a Resurrection appearance - so far all from the very first Easter Sunday. It's as if the Church in her maternal wisdom knew that we needed many separate days (with sleep in between) to absorb just the first day of Jesus' resurrected life! Ah, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, with the emphasis (today) on Today! That eternal victory, that endless life He has opened up for us, claimed for us in His own glorified body, and holds safely in His wounded side for us, till the day He gives us that first real big smacker (Kiss!!)!!!

But enough waxing eloquent. I owe you some lyrics! If you recall from our last post, we are enjoying Souris et Chante (Smile and Sing!) this Easter. You can scroll down to it if you need a refresher or the link to the French song being sung so joyfully by little French children - and I hope that even without my giving you the rest of the words, you've been able to "La-la-la" with them in Easter joy!

Here is the link to the song, so you won't have to scroll down. You need to save your energy for lifting a chocolate croissant to your sweet mouth. It's a challenge, but we've got to feast as well as sing!

Souris et chante!

And now here are the lyrics they are singing in French, with the English translation beside each line. Forgive me for giving you the French without accent marks, but you'll still be able to follow, I hope.

Oh, but first, something delightful! "Souris" in French turns out to mean two possible things. It can be a command to smile (a friendly, cheerful command, such as Therese addressed to Marcel and Marcel addresses to us!), but it can also mean . . . mouse! How perfect and fun is that? Marcel is like the little Mighty Mouse of the Little Way! So yes, dear little mouse, smile!

Okay. Now you're ready for my rough translation. Well not so rough, because unlike google translate, I am translating "Souris" here as "Smile!" (rather than mouse!) - so here goes:

Souris et chante!  [Smile and sing!]
Pourquoi t'inquieter, [Why worry?}
Jesus est la! {Jesus is here!]

Souris et chante!  [Smile and sing!]
Cesse de pleurer et leve-toi!   [Stop crying and get up!]

Souris et chante!  [Smile and sing!]
Pourquoi t'inquiter, [Why worry?]
Jesus t'attend!  [Jesus is waiting for you!]

Souris et chante!  [Smile and sing!]
Chasse la tristesse,  [Chase the sadness]
va de l'avant!  [Go ahead!] 

La saintete c'est une vie ou il faut changer sa tristesse en joie.
[Holiness is a life where you change your sadness into joy.]
Petit frere, ne te decourage pas, mais souris a la vie!
[Little brother, don't be discouraged, but smile at life!]

Souris et chante! (repeat from beginning....)

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And now, I'm going to post this before it poofs into thin air!
You've been waiting long enough to know what it is the children are singing, what it is that Therese taught Marcel and now Marcel and Therese are teaching us. Smile and sing, and chase away sadness! May all your Easter moments be joyful - and if that sadness creeps up on you, well, little mouse, smile and sing! Before you know it, you will even laugh!

I've been wanting to mention (again) that the days this year are so extra special because they match up exactly with the days of 1946 when Marcel wrote his Conversations for us.

To make it even specialer (!) I found out on Easter that this is the first time since 1946 that Easter was on April 21st, and so forth (backwards and forwards from the Great Feast) for all these 2019 dates and those in 1946 (same Palm Sunday, same Holy Thursday, same Good Friday, same Easter Thursday, etc.) Marvelous!!! If you don't yet have your copy of Convos in order to read along, day by exact same day, here is another link - I can't get over the "$25 and it will be in your mailbox possibly tomorrow!" I feel just like Blessed Solanus Casey, who used to recommend his fave book, The Mystical City of God, regardless of its cost, for it brought him such spiritual treasure. Yes, we are in need of spiritual treasure, and I can't help but recommend again the book in which I find the fullness of Jesus' riches:

Conversations

And with that, let's pray, and then smile and sing!

O Petit Jesus, draw us, we will run!!!