Just two weeks ago, the Holy Church entered into the joyous season of Easter. The solemn celebration is, every year, ushered in by the three-day liturgical marathon of the Triduum. Those enriching three days are endowed with some of the most beautiful sacred music in the life of the Church – and I am blessed to be part of music ministry in my parish. 

What I found most fascinating this year while listening to the sacred chants embedded into the Easter Vigil was the feeling which the melodies inspire. One would not at first consider the “Exultet” an upbeat song of triumph, nor would the simple tone of the “Regina Caeli” strike anyone as a happy tune. Perhaps we would confuse any secular friend we might invite to the Vigil by the nature of our Church’s solemn celebrating! 

The Church’s hymns speak from a place of mystery and deep joy rather than frivolous partying, which may be more familiar to our culture as a proper form of celebration. The melodies of Easter chants become a bit more complex to match the solemnity of the occasion, but the pace remains slow and meditative to best serve the words being sung. Chant is purposefully almost impossible to trace a constant “beat” throughout as it is meant as an elevation of sacred proclamations. It is as though the singing form of communication from heaven’s eternity has broken into human life when one hears a well-sung chant. The wonderful Easter proclamation of the “Exultet” is nothing like any modern, happy songs – it is a hymn one would expect the angels to deliver to the faithful people.

The key to the Church’s Easter celebration lies, I think, in the reality and prevalence of death. Our parish priest likes to remind his congregation at the Easter Vigil of Theoden’s last charge in The Return of the King, and the Rohirrim’s cry of “Death!” as they ride behind their king. Perhaps just such a battle cry is woven into the Church’s triumph at our Lord’s resurrection. The glory we celebrate as a Church is not simply expressed through the stereotypical Easter sunhats and spring flowers— it is a glory that has cost the victor His very life. We may take comfort in joining Christ’s charge because he is not making promises of comfort and ease, but rather of something beyond the inevitable deaths in this world that we must face. He has been through death; he calls us to follow where he has gone, and promises something far beyond the expectations of human happiness.

I hope, as we continue to enjoy this next half of Easter season, we might immerse our imaginations in solemn joy in order to inspire our writing. One needn’t write a comedy to employ a joyous ending – the greatest tragedies tap into a sense of divine, imperishable joy. As artists, it is almost a duty for us to give readers a glimpse into the eternal joy that triumphs after this earthly life. Creative writing does not enjoy the religious significance which sacred music does, but it might inspire readers in the face of life’s difficulties, and assure them that there is hope, even beyond death itself!

Copyright 2026 Maggie Rosario

Edited By Janet Tamez