The Easter Season is rich with symbols all of which remind us of new life and light. Symbols touch us in ways that the object in and of itself cannot. At the Easter Vigil, we bless both fire and water to point us to greater truths. Each year, the fire brings home to us, once again, that Jesus is the light of the world, and water not only reminds us of creation but also, most importantly, of our baptism.

The secular world has added its own symbols in bunny and eggs. Both speak of fertility and new life. Early Christians dyed eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ, eventually it became custom to dye eggs. The egg is also a good symbol of new life emerging as the chick breaks out of its shell, just as Jesus emerged from the tomb to bring us new life.

Easter and Spring are good times to reflect on how much new life comes out of a shell or some other form of covering or encasement. Birds come out of shells, butterflies emerge from cocoons, daffodils have to escape their sheath, and many seeds have to break through a hard outer casing to germinate. Even though the process begins in confinement, it does not end there - the shell, the cocoon, the sheath, the outer casing all have to yield for new life to emerge. What is keeping you from being free?