Alleluia is our theme song!! We can finally say it! Sing it! Proclaim it to the world! Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!
In the summer of 2013, I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage to New York and PA and visit some of the North American shrines like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katherine Drexel, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the North America Martyrs, etc. While it wasn’t a Catholic ‘holy site’, one of my favorite stops was in Philadelphia—the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum. We ran up those 72 steps like lightning and, of course, I had to mimic the victory dance at the top! (this is the picture we took of the statue). I have to confess that I am a Rocky fan as I have seen each movie many, many times. The Rocky theme song has to be one of the most played theme songs of all time. As soon as you begin playing the song, your raise your arms high, your heart is lifted up, the thought of triumph comes to mind, and almost every time, you begin to dance the victory dance! The lyrics are few in the Rocky theme song but the message gets through: “Trying hard now...getting strong now...won’t be long now...gonna fly now.”
In our Christian lives, the lyrics of our theme song boil down to one word: ALLELUIA! Alleluia literally means ‘God be praised!’ Like the Rocky theme song that lifts us up, the theme song of Christianity, the ALLELUIA, lifts us up, reminds us of our victory in Christ and indeed gets us ready for our mission – to spread the Gospel with great joy! John Paul II said that “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” We sing God’s praises as we recall what God has done in our lives – how he has conquered sin and death and given us new life! Alleluia!
On this Easter Sunday take a moment and listen to the Rocky theme song! But don’t forget to listen to OUR theme song: ALLELUIA! Shout it out! Sing it loud! God be praised in all we do! May you have a Blessed Easter and truly enjoy it with your family!
May God’s joy and peace be with you,
Fr. Jeremy
P.S. Come next Sunday for a Divine Mercy Prayer Service @ 2:00 p.m. in the Church. Come adore the Eucharistic Lord, pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, revere the Divine Mercy Image and ultimately celebrate God’s mercy in our lives!
