Regina Coeli

Alert readers noticed that I posted a "Regina Coeli" video on YouTube (it's in the little box down in the sidebar). I was actually too embarrassed to put it right up on the blog, since the audio quality is so poor. But it's useful for learning the chant, at least!
The prayer itself is a wonderful "match" with the Annunciation. Just as at the Annunciation, Gabriel greeted the "one full of grace" with "Rejoice!" so do we, during the Easter season, greet the "Queen of Heaven" with the same word, "Rejoice!" (That is, it would be the same word if we spoke Greek!) And "joy" abounds also in today's liturgy, which, unfortunately, I was not able to participate in firsthand today, having been felled by a combination of a sinus infection, back trouble and general misery. Check the opening prayer! And then the marvelous psalm, "Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord." It brings us back to the Regina Coeli: The Queen of Heaven is the one who, more than any other creature, sought the Lord.