pardon for sinners,
healing for the sick,
laughter for weepers,
a song for the sullen,
and for those who have nothing — everything!
Christ is risen!
Tonight no one gets what he deserves!
Each one gets what he has not earned:
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9),
for Christ is risen!
onight the stars shine in their watches and
are glad (Bar 3:34),
sparks of fire hurled into the murky vastness,
an incandescent train for the King of Glory!
Christ is risen!
Tonight, for the foolish there is wisdom!
Tonight, for the weak there is strength!
Tonight, for the simple there is understanding!
Christ is risen!
Tonight, for the uncertain there is discernment!
Tonight, for the anxious there is length of days and life!
Tonight, for the blind there is light!
Tonight, for the battle-scarred and weary there is
peace,
For Christ is risen!
onight, there is a bath to wash away every
defilement!
Tonight, every idol comes crashing down!
Tonight, there is a mystical infusion of purity in our
inmost parts,
for Christ is risen!
This is the night of the new heart.
This is the night of the new spirit.
This is the night of hearts of stone
exchanged for hearts of flesh (cf. Ez 36:26),
For Christ is risen!
Tonight the panting deer arrives at flowing streams!
Tonight she who puts no limits on her desire
is held fast in the embrace of a Love without limits!
Christ is risen!
Tonight he who has followed his heart’s whispering,
– “Seek His Face” –
feasts, like Simon, on the Face of His Lord,
Christ is risen!
fter Moses, after David and the Prophets,
the Apostle draws a breath and speaks:
“Consider yourselves,” he said, “dead to sin” (Rom 6:11).
“Dead?” you say, fearful and astonished.
“Dead,” he says. “No other way.
And alive to God in Christ Jesus” (cf. Rom 6:11).
Christ is risen!
T
T
A
Die then, tonight, die dead to all that is old,
die dead to all that is decayed,
die dead to all that will not rise to join the dance,
for Christ is risen!
ary Magdalene and the other Mary
ran before us to the tomb!
The earth shook and shifted, jumped and heaved!
“What cosmic dance is this?” they asked,
as over rocks and rills they sped,
while beneath their feet the road to His tomb
cracked like the shells of Easter eggs!
Christ is risen!
And then they saw it all:
the gracious Angel seated on the stone,
dazzling brightness,
blinding whiteness,
guards, first shaking like leaves in the breeze,
and then stiff as dead men for fear!
“Do not be afraid;
for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen as he said.
Come see the place where he lay” (Mt 28:6).
Christ is risen!
To them it was announced, yes,
but the Mother . . . the Mother already knew!
She, the first in this night, as in the night of Bethlehem,
to behold the Human Face of God!
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen that we, going to the altar in this
most holy night,
might see His Face shining beneath the sacramental veils!
Christ is risen that we, like so many mirrors lifted
high to catch the light,
might dispel the darkness within and without!
Christ is risen that hope may triumph in every
heart, in every place!
Christ is risen to go before us:
our Brother to the Father,
our Priest to the Altar.
our Saviour to the world!
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen!
M