At 3 a.m. Ione Schexnayder LeBlanc, 90, of Darrow often puts on a pot of coffee and sits at her dining room table and begins making rosaries that will be placed in the hands of patients and their families at local hospitals.

“Speak, Mary, declaring, what you saw, wayfaring. “The tomb of Christ, who is living, the glory of Jesus’ resurrection; bright angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting. Yes, Christ my hope is arisen …” (Easter stanza)

As families gather to celebrate Easter, a common activity involves Easter eggs — dying them or stuffing them with treats and hiding them.

Shortest liturgical season most powerful

I have always been at a loss for how to greet people at Easter. I suppose the default common greeting is “Happy Easter” but that has always seemed too small for so wondrous a solemnity of our faith. It is also a little secular and mundane like the greeting “Have a nice day.”