Rebirth

The original idea of any sacred festival is to make the human being look upward from his dependence on earthly things to those things that transcend the Earth.    – Rudolf Steiner

This Easter image from Mary Southard, CSJ, has always been a favorite of mine. It seems to embrace the many aspects of “Easter”, from Eostre (the pagan festival of rebirth and new life) to Easter (the holiest festival for Christians celebrating the resurrection of Christ.) I have always loved the fact that the Christian festival of Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox. Unlike other holidays that are celebrated conveniently on a particular calendar day, Easter is tied to the movement of the starry heavens. In many ways, modern religion has completely lost touch with the fact that the physical world of nature has anything at all to do with the spiritual world.  The festival of Easter is a powerful reminder to us that Creation is sacred. In springtime, with the opening of the buds and the greening of the world around us, we are reminded that the earth itself celebrates Resurrection, and we humans are part of the glorious mystery, not separate from it. May we each experience rebirth this day, whatever our spiritual path.