He is Risen!

All creation sings your praise, Christ is risen from the grave.
Rejoicing, we sing all our days, Alleluia to our God!

A new life for us to share, in God’s healing, loving care.
Christ our brother lives forever, Alleluia to our God!

In Easter joy we pray and sing, to our God we gladly bring
Praises that will ever ring, Alleluia to our God!

Birds and flowers dance their way, in this life-filled Easter day.
Creation sings for all to say, Alleluia to our God!

Christ is risen from the dead; new life shines, we all are lead.
At the table we are fed, Alleluia to our God!

Excerpted from “Sing Alleluia”
by Janet Vogt

This is the joy of the Easter Vigil: we are free. In the resurrection of Jesus, love has been shown to be stronger than death, stronger than evil.

From Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter Vigil homily – April 7, 2007.

Images of Easter 2007 from around the world . . .

Above: A Romanian girl holds a candle while attending an Easter service at the St. Iosif Roman Catholic cathedral in Bucharest. This year Orthodox Christians, which comprise the majority of Romanian people, celebrate Easter on the same day as Roman Catholics; the calendars for the two traditions do not always coincide. (Associated Press)



Above: A Spanish United Nations peacekeeper breaks colored Easter eggs with Lebanese girls outside a church in the southeast village of Marjayoun. (Associated Press)



Above: Filipino children paint eggs for an Easter egg hunt in suburban Manila, Philippines. (AFP/Getty Images)



Above: Iraqi Christians observe Easter in a church in Baghdad. (Associated Press)



Above: Pope Benedict XVI delivers the Easter 'Urbi et Orbi' (to the city and the world) benediction in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican April 8, 2007. Pope Benedict, in his Easter message, made an impassioned call for world peace on Sunday and lamented the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and the growing unrest in Afghanistan. (Osservatore Romano/Reuters)



Above: Ethiopian Christians hold candles during a ceremony of the "Holy Fire" at the Dir Al-Sultan Church on the roof of Jerusalem's contested Holy Sepulchre Church on April 7, 2007. Thousands of worshippers from five Christian traditions celebrated Easter at the Holy Sepulchre Church - the traditional site of Jesus' resurrection. (AFP/Gali Tibbon)


Opening image: Van Peebles Land.
Image of Easter altar: Michael Bayly.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
The Triumph of Love: An Easter Reflection
Palm Sunday Around the World