Easter growth and abundance

As we approach Easter, Caroline Stanton from CAFOD’s Theology team reflects on the risen Jesus’ encounter with Mary in the garden and the new life that this season brings.

In my grandma’s house was a framed, handmade cross stitch design with the words of the poet Dorothy Frances Gurney, ‘One is nearer to God’s heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth.’ It was a saying that made sense when you saw the care and love my grandma had poured into the earth. As a child I loved to spend time in her garden; it was full of life, abundance and peace – beautiful flowers, green grass, peas that you could pick directly from the pods to eat.

Sadly, I never inherited my grandma’s green fingers but this Lent I have been inspired by the flourishing gardens planted by Rupali and Dristy in Bangladesh, one of the countries most affected by the climate crisis. The mother and daughter work side by side; growing fruits and vegetables, building seed beds to protect against flooding and planting trees to shield the village from cyclones.

Give to our Lent appeal and help give people like Dristy and Rupali’s the tools and training they have requested to fight the climate crisis.

‘Supposing him to be the gardener…’

“Mary Magdalene turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus…supposing him to be the gardener.”

John 20:14 -15

As we prepare for the great celebration of Easter, I have been struck anew by Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Jesus in John’s gospel. Crying outside the empty tomb, Mary sees a figure she thinks is a gardener but that she recognises as Jesus when he speaks her name.

It seems at first like a simple case of mistaken identity but perhaps, in fact, she is not wrong.

This time of year, a patient gardener is rewarded as they see bulbs growing, buds opening and the shoots of new plants. Signs of life are all around us.

New life is exactly what the resurrection of Jesus brings to all creation. Like the first crocus breaking through, Easter brings with it hope and joy. As Pope Francis writes;

“Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which has permeated this world. Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up. It is an irresistible force. Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”  

The Joy of the Gospel, 276

Our first home

On the first Sunday of Lent, we heard the story of where it all began; humanity’s first home in Eden. There God invites Adam and Eve to nurture and tend the garden he has created. We know that our world today is far from paradise – the earth cries out from the harm we have inflicted on it. We see all too clearly the signs of injustice, indifference, and cruelty that Pope Francis speaks of in the poverty and conflict that divide our world.

Listen to an Easter message from Jenny Garzón Saavedra, of our partner FUNVIPAS in the Colombian Amazon, on caring for our common home.

Dig deep

In this Easter season, let’s trust that the risen Jesus, is at work in us too; planting seeds and lovingly nurturing us as he creates space for us to grow.

And let’s ask his help as we dig deep and commit ourselves to treasuring our world, to sharing our gifts generously and witnessing to the new life, joy and peace of the resurrection.

Celebrate the joy of the resurrection with our beautiful Easter prayers.

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