Christ is risen; indeed, He is arisen, alleluia! — Happy Eastertide! Brainstorming for the final arc of The Hostage has gone very well, and, God willing, I’ll begin typing the last three chapters next week. Altogether, it ended up being 31 chapters; depending on the final page count, we will see whether or not it has to be split into two parts.
With much excitement, I announce that I already have two new writing projects lined up.
- Firstly, after the conclusion of The Tournament Trials, Christine and I had pondered the possibility of writing a side story about an event that occurred toward the end of the trilogy but, because it was not the main focus of the story, the adventure was only briefly mentioned. Christine recently thought of some good ideas, and so we are going to write our first ever side story!
- Secondly, much like how we’ve been even more closely collaborating with The Hostage, I’m going to team up with both Christine and Renae to write a miniseries. The idea for the plot occurred to me back in December of 2022. We’re just in the earliest stages of planning everything out, but there is already a lot of promising material to work with. I’m really looking forward to seeing what our team can do with it! I’ll reveal the name of the miniseries once we have officially begun.
Phase 2 editing of The Catholic Colonies: Part One is still ongoing. We’ve made excellent progress, despite how it turned out to be harder than anticipated for Renae and I to make time to meet up for it during Lent; also, we both had bouts of illness. With The Hostage nearly complete, we plan to put in some good hours of editing before delving into the side story and miniseries, D.V.!
Your continued patience and the support of your prayers are greatly appreciated. May God reward you! To close, I’ve copied over a few more seasonal verses from A Collection of Poems by Eleanor C. Donnelly that I hope you will find as warm and uplifting and inspiring as I do.
Easter-Tide
These April days are full of song,
And all alive with poesy,
The streams of thought, ice-fetter’d long,
In sunlight melt and sparkle free.
And as, throughout the fair creation,
The sap is stirring in the wood,—
The gentle thrills of inspiration
Are stirring in the heart and blood.
Methinks I hear the children call
That buttercups are in the lane:
And surely by the garden-wall,
I hear a robin sing again!
The flow’rs and birds in fresh affection
Are meeting at the Easter-tryst,—
O earth! thy vernal resurrection
Salutes and shrines the risen Christ!
The Alleluia of the Pasch
Alleluia! the bells are ringing,
Up, high up, in the golden dawn;
Alleluia! the choirs are singing,
Passiontide and its shadows gone.
Alleluia! the birds are trilling
Over the eggs in their new-made nests:
Field and meadow and garden filling
With th’ joy o’erflowing feathered breasts.
The world of nature round us rises
Clad in resurrection green;
The world of grace all heav’n surprises
With risen glories, earth unseen!
Alleluia! chants the river
To hill and mountain, sky and sea!
Evermore and still forever,
Float the echoes back to me:
Echoes of an Angel-chorus
(White-robed in the garden gloom),
Shouting to the welkin o’er us:
“Christ hath risen from the tomb!”
All my heart springs up in greeting
To the rapture of the word:
“Alleluia!”—glad repeating—
“Hail, thrice hail, Thou Risen Lord!”
Easter Hymn of the Sacred Heart
O infinite Power, almighty, supreme!
O Heart of our new-risen Savior and God!
We come in our need, in our weakness extreme,
To share in the blessings Thou sheddest abroad.
We tremble—we faint—we are helpless and frail—
Ah! let the strong arm of Thy mercy uphold
Our feeble endeavors. Thro’ Life’s dreary vale,
Support with Thy might the weak lambs of Thy fold.
O Heart of our God! O God of our heart!
O Beauty and Brightness that naught can transcend!
Thy grace and Thy love to our spirits impart!
Thy glory, Thy will be our joy to the end!
O infinite Wisdom, resplendently bright,
Forever illuming a Heart all divine;
Descend on the shadows which curtain our night,
And thro’ its thick darkness, triumphantly shine!
We grope ’mid the gloom—we are blinded with doubt,
O Light of the world! be our counsel, our stay;
Ah! let the sweet star of Thy Wisdom blaze out,
Thy Heart’s brilliant luster illumine our way!
O Heart of our God! O God of our heart!
O Rainbow of Hope, where all benisons blend!
Thy grace and Thy love to our spirits impart,
Thy glory, Thy will be our joy to the end!
O infinite Love, ever ancient, yet new!
Thy Heart is aflame with the Spirit’s warm breath.
No waters can quench, or those fires subdue,—
They are older than Time; they are stronger than Death!
O Heart of all hearts! let Thy mystical fires,
Like sparks ’mid the reeds, set our bosoms aglow:
Enkindle our coldness, inflame our desires,
Refine us like gold—make us pure as the snow!
O Heart of our God! O God of our heart!
O Risen Redeemer! our Master, our Friend!
Thy grace and Thy love to our spirits impart,
Thy glory, Thy will be our joy to the end!
Christ Hath Risen
I.
AS the glorious sun on high
Rends apart the night’s dark cloud;
As the radiant butterfly
Springs from out its dusky shroud;
As the lily from the mold,
Blossoms in its robes of snow;
Or, from out its ashes cold,
Mounts the phœnix, all aglow,—
Out of Death’s sepulchral prison
Christ hath risen!
II.
Sleep the Roman guards as dead;—
Where the stone is rolled away,
Shining angels watch instead
On this beauteous Easter Day.
Vain the spices, unguents sweet,
Which the holy women bring:
Blessed head and bleeding feet
Need no more Love’s minist’ring.
Hark! that burst of song Elysian—
Christ hath risen!
III.
Speed the rapturous news abroad—
Give it to the breezes free!
Every chorister of God,
Weave it into melody!
Hearts that bleed and heads that bow,
See, He cometh from afar!
Living pearls, His teardrops glow,
Every wound is like a star!
Up! adore the shining Vision!
Christ hath risen!
The True Easter
(The word Easter, according to St. Jerome, signifies a change and a passage. St. Bernard says,
referring to this: “Our Lord, passing to a new life, invites us to follow Him, to change our lives.”)
What doth it profit us to rise with Christ,
And share with Him new life on Easter Sunday,
If, straightaway, by the olden snares enticed
We die to Him by sin on Easter Monday?
To fast, to pray—to watch and meditate
From Mardi Gras till Resurrection morning,
And then, to keep a Saturnalian féte
For moons to come—all prayer and penance scorning:
Is this to rise with Christ in fear and love
The cerements of the grave forever quitting?
Is this to seek the things that are above,
Where Christ is at His Father’s right hand sitting?
Ah! no, our Easter is a passage sure,
A change from midnight gloom to noonday splendor:
The great stone rolled away, and angels pure
Lighting the tomb with lustrous eyes and tender!
A passage to that land where Grace and Peace,
Like Easter lilies, bloom in full perfection.
From vice to sever, and from sin to cease,
Ah! this it is to share Christ’s Resurrection!