The Church’s number one Easter hymn is the Exultet, sung immediately after the lighting and procession of the Paschal Candle at the beginning of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night:

Rejoice, heavenly, power!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God’s throne.
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King.
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes forever!

Easter is celebrated a little later this year, which is great for all of us who love our gardens. Everything is leafed out and in bloom. “Exult all creation,” indeed! “Rejoice O earth in shining splendor!” The richness of warm earth and sunshine permeate us and cause us to sing with the angels and saints of God’s goodness so manifest in Christ’s sacrifice and glory that bring us salvation.

It is as if the whole world everywhere is celebrating the jubilee of Christ’s triumph over sin and death. Indeed, “Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever!” The Exultet continues:

Rejoice, Mother Church!
Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy, echoing
the mighty song of all God’s people!

Yes, the Church rejoices as the risen Savior shines upon us and assures us the forgiveness of our sins. We have witnessed the striking gesture of our Holy Father seeking the forgiveness of all whom members of the Church have wronged in the past. We have tried to unite ourselves with that sentiment and to be honest about our sins in Confession during the Lenten season. We truly resound now with joy as the future opens before us, blessed with Christ’s new life of grace and confident in his promise to be always with us.

At Easter, we renew our own baptismal promises and glory in the fruitful waters that have washed us clean and continue to nurture our lives. We are happy to welcome into our midst countless converts who have journeyed in faith to this marvelous moment of full initiation into Christ’s bountiful grace. Together, we share in the Lord’s eucharistic sacrifice and are privileged to have Communion with Christ who died for us and rose again and gives us his Holy Spirit. Like our gardens, in Christ we can bloom and prosper and reflect back to God the glory of all the earth.

The Exultet continues with the great promises of Easter,

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred,
brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.

We have tried to hoe and weed our lives during Lent. We have tried to root out the evils of our pride and to grow in the virtues of humility, forgiveness, and love for others. Like flower bulbs buried and dormant in the soil, we have been stirred to life by the warmth of God’s grace and the continued freshness of the flowing waters of baptism. We are now, as it were, in full bloom. Once again, we are aware of the great promises and graces God bestows upon us through the Paschal Mystery. We gaze in wonder and awe at the splendor of Christ yesterday, today and forever! In Christ, we have risen from sin and darkness to the wonder of God’s kingdom of light.

Finally, we pray with the concluding verses of the Exultet:

May the Morning Star which never sets
Find this flame still burning.
Christ, that morning star
who came back from the dead,
And shed his peaceful light on all humankind,
Your Son who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.

A blessed and happy Easter to all!

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