Inner Easter

Easter is upon us again. In San Miguel, we are making ready for the most solemn, colorful, and passionate public rituals of the year.

Many years ago, when I was taking theology courses as part of my training to be a Roman Catholic monk, I encountered the curious rule for setting the annual date for the feast of Easter, called in the official liturgical calendar “The Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Unlike Christmas, which falls on 25 December every year in the Western Roman Church, Easter is what is termed “a movable feast” — that is, its date changes every year according to certain circumstances. In the case of Easter, those circumstances are cosmic.

When Easter occurs is so important to the Church’s liturgy that figuring out the date actually has a specific name in Latin — one that may sound suspiciously contemporary. The name is Computus. Since the early Middle Ages, Computus is the term used to determine the date of Easter, from which many other feasts and commemorations that precede it and follow it in turn take their scheduling.

For instance, once we know the date for Easter next year, we will be able to back-track through the weeks of Lent to find Ash Wednesday, and the day before that, Fat Tuesday (called so, of course, because one could get fat for the last time on that day before launching into the rigorous fasts of Lent).

The Computus rule, right out of the Church’s Canon Law is that Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th day of the lunar month (the nominal full moon) that falls on or after 21 March, which is nominally the day of the vernal equinox. Another way of saying it: Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring.

If a Christian feast being set in accordance with phases of the moon and equinoxes sounds vaguely like an ancient pagan earth-deity ritual, it is because it probably was in the beginning. What better time of year to mark the resurrection of the self than the moment the earth begins its journey back to life, taking all of nature with it? The idea of personal renewal at the start of spring no doubt goes back to the dawn of human consciousness.

Regardless of your religious or spiritual beliefs, we all have the opportunity at this special time of the year to connect with the deeper mystery and stirring metaphor of resurrection. The tree that was just a dark tangle of bare branches all through winter is now sprouting new growth, obviously alive though it appeared dead for so many months. In the same way, if we get into the spirit of the season, we can renew ourselves by rededicating our efforts to be the highest expression of who we truly are.

Personal renewal is probably different for everyone depending on what one values in life. For me, there are several dimensions to the idea of rebirth — the first the reawakening of my physical self. I find that this is the time of year to revisit my New Year’s resolutions, particularly the ones about the health of my body, and redouble my efforts to get enough rest, engage in regular exercise, and eat healthy food.

Mental renewal can be about staying sharp and alert — avoiding TV or other numb-out mental “activities” — and conversing intelligently with others, trying to stay on-target and “on-message,” without wandering down verbal blind alleys. This is a good time to examine mental attitudes and beliefs, as well, to see whether they are still working in us in a positive way. Toxic, self-defeating self-concepts can be identified and striped away now, leaving room for the growth of new and better ways of regarding ourselves.

Spiritual renewal, in my mind, has to do with reconnecting in a meaningful way with the Source of life within us. Taking time during the week — during each day, really — to reflect on the truth that we are spiritual beings walking a human path (not the other way around) can bring us to a place of peace and serenity in all the other areas of life.

When Easter comes around every year, it is another opportunity for us to rise from the ashes of past and be reborn into a new and higher sense of self. Getting in touch with the archetype of resurrection and making it past of our own internal process, can bring a deep richness within to the awesome spectacle that is taking place right here in the streets of our special town.


Joseph Dispenza is a co-founder of LifePath in San Miguel and the author of God On Your Own: Finding a Spiritual Path Outside Religion, and many other books.