The Lord is Risen!

Welcome, happy morning!” age to age shall say:
“Hell today is vanquished, Heav’n is won today!”
Lo! the dead is living, God forevermore!
Him, their true Creator, all His works adore.

- Venantius Fortunatus (c. AD 530)

Hear once more the Easter glory told by St. Irenaeus of Lyons:

Great, then, was the mercy of God the Father: He sent the creative Word, who, when He came to save us, put Himself in our position, and in the same situation in which we lost life; and He loosed the prison-bonds, and His light appeared and dispelled the darkness in the prison, and He sanctified our birth and abolished our death, loosing those same bonds by which we were held.

And He showed forth the resurrection, becoming Himself the first-born of all the dead, and raised in Himself prostrate man, being lifted up to the heights of heaven, at the right hand of the glory of the Father, as God had promised through the prophet, saying, ‘I will raise up the tabernacle of David, that is fallen’, that is, the body sprung from David; and this was in truth accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ, in the triumph of our redemption, that He raise us in truth, setting us free to the Father.

The Lord has risen indeed! The triumph of our redemption is at hand. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

May this Eastertide give you, dear ones, an unending source of joy, comfort and peace. And may the feasting and festal shouts begin and never cease!

Easy Eastertide Rack of Lamb

Ingredients

2 racks of domestic lamb (New Zealand lamb is entirely too small and lean; this is Eastertide, so be decadent)
6 TBSP oregano
3 TBSP thyme
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
Finely cracked pepper

Instructions

Preheat both a grill to high heat and an oven to 450. Line a baking pan with foil and liberally coat the lamb on both sides with the balsamic and olive oil. Afterwards, coat both sides of the lamb with the remaining ingredients. Place lamb on a hot grill for four minutes per side or until each side has a nice seared appearance; it may flame up, but this is fine. Remove racks from grill and quickly place them fatty side up on the baking pan in the oven for 12 more minutes.

After twelve minutes, remove the racks and insert an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the lamb. For medium-rare and because the meat will continue to cook once your remove it from the heat, you are looking for no more than 115-120 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board and slather with salted butter before slicing.

I serve this with Rosebud Farms mint jelly, which is from England and is infinitely superior to the fake green mint jelly available in most American supermarkets. Rosebud Farms products can be ordered from Dean & Deluca at www.deandeluca.com