January: The Quiet Beginning

January begins not with noise but with stillness. After the long days of Christmas, the world seems to exhale: the fields rest, the air sharpens, and the year opens like a blank page. It is a month for noticing small things: candlelight against grey skies, the steady hum of a kettle, the cool clarity of reflections on still water.

In the Church’s year, January carries the light of Epiphany: the revelation of Christ to the nations, the story of a star guiding travellers through darkness. It reminds us that even when the way ahead feels uncertain, there is always a glimmer of divine light calling us onward. Renewal often begins quietly, with trust rather than resolution.

From the Earth

In Britain, the landscape is pared back to essentials: skeletal trees, damp soil, low light. Yet beneath it all, life stirs unseen. Bulbs gather strength, buds begin to swell, and the earth hums with potential. The stillness is not emptiness but preparation.

To walk in winter is to remember that rest is part of growth: that creation itself keeps Sabbath before bursting into spring.

Those Who Went Before

St Aelred of Rievaulx (Feast Day: 12 January)

St Aelred was a twelfth-century Cistercian abbot in Yorkshire, known for his warmth, friendship, and deep sense of community. In a world often marked by striving, Aelred’s writings remind us of the holiness found in kindness and companionship.

He wrote that “Friendship bears fruit in the sweetness of love.” His monastic life was shaped by rhythm: prayer, work, and rest woven together with affection and care. Aelred’s gentleness still speaks to modern life: we are called not just to pray, but to belong, to make of our relationships a small reflection of God’s love.

A Prayer in Action

This month, light a candle each morning or evening and pray for clarity: not for grand plans, but for enough light to see the next step.

“Lord, as the Magi followed your light, may I walk faithfully in the glow of your presence.”

You might also write a small note of thanks for one person whose friendship has guided or steadied you, and keep it by your prayer space.

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

Isaiah 60:1