April: The Dawn of Easter
April opens with resurrection. After the long quiet of Lent and the shadows of Holy Week, Easter arrives: not with thunder, but with morning light, dew on grass, and an empty tomb. The world doesn’t change in a blaze; it changes in the soft footsteps of women walking to the grave at dawn, arms full of spices, and finding instead a beginning.
Resurrection is not triumph over pain by avoiding it, it is love passing through death and rising changed but still scarred. The risen Christ still bears wounds; redemption does not erase them. April is a month for letting hope be gentle, not forced. A month for believing that life can grow from buried places, like bulbs pushing through dark soil.
The Church now lives in Eastertide, the long stretch of days when we consider what resurrection means in kitchens, buses, hospital corridors, and fields.
From the Earth
The land in April is alive with beginnings. Lambs stumble through fields, bleating against the chill. Bluebells gather in woodland shadows, turning the floor to a blue haze. Primroses bloom in hedgerow banks, and wild garlic leaves carpet damp valleys with their green, pungent scent.
Blackthorn blossom froths white along hedges, even before its leaves appear. Swallows return from Africa, stitching the air above fields and barns. Rain falls often, but it is softer now, washing the last of winter from stone, roof, and bone. The earth is waking.
Those Who Went Before
St Anselm of Canterbury (Feast Day: 21st April)
St Anselm was an 11th-century monk, theologian, and Archbishop of Canterbury, but before he was any of those things, he was a man who longed for God. His writings are full of yearning rather than certainty. His most famous prayer begins: “I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand.”
Anselm entered monastic life in Normandy before being called to England. He led during times of political tension, yet remained rooted in prayer, reflection, and a deep vision of God’s nearness. He spoke of faith not as possession, but as desire: the soul reaching toward the One who already holds it.
He belongs to April because Easter is not only about seeing, but about seeking.
A Prayer in Action
Take a short walk at sunrise or early morning this month: even if only to the garden, doorstep, or open window. Breathe in the cool air, let the light touch your face, and pray simply: “Risen Christ, awaken me to Your presence.”
If mornings aren't possible, choose sunset - the light is still gentle then. The prayer is the same. Let your body feel the shift of light as part of the prayer.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here; he has risen.”
