“Thus on Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something that happened and still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and to live by it. It is a gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in this world, including death. It makes it possible for us joyfully to affirm: “Death is no more!” Oh, death is still there, to be sure and we still face it and someday it will come and take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage—a “passover,” a “Pascha”—into the Kingdom of God, transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory. “Trampling down death by death,” He made us partakes of His Resurrection. This is why at the end of the Paschal Matins we say: “Christ is risen and life reigneth! Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave!” 

Father Alexander Schmemann

This year the lenten quarantine left our store supermarket with absolutely no flour. Not only ours, but every supermarket in our area for days has had no flour. We were all so disappointed that we might not be able to bake Tsoureki, a traditional sweet bread that we eat only once a year on Pascha. It’s kind of a big deal in my family, especially the french toast it becomes the day after Pascha!

Luckily my sweet friends who own a local farm to table brewery / restaurant heard of my poverty! Every year I have invited them to our Pascha dinner. They are neither Orthodox, nor Christian, just good friends. They brought me 10 pounds of flour early this morning.

I got right to baking. My arms are sore from all the zesting and kneading 8 loaves of bread… but my house smells delicious!