Most of us are taking a break from work for the Easter long weekend.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether we’re religious, unsure, or haven’t set foot in a church in years, schools are still closed, and most of us are forced to take a break.
But have you ever wondered what Easter traditionally about?
Here’s a version of the story that you may not have heard:
When Jesus was arrested and killed, the men fled.
But the women stayed.
They were at the cross.
They returned to the tomb.
They held the grief, the fear, the silence.
And it was Mary Magdalene, not Peter, not Paul, who first saw Jesus alive after the resurrection.
Mary ran to tell the others.
And they did not believe her.
Instead of honouring her, the Church later rebranded her as a prostitute.
Thank you, Pope Gregory I, 591 AD.
Her gospel, where she spoke of the divinity we carry inside us and the sacred wisdom of nature, was buried until 1896.
This isn’t just a story.
It’s every woman's story.
Because what happens when women speak truths that men don't want to hear?
They are dismissed.
Disbelieved.
Erased.
And only then they are happy to take what we said, and run with it on their own.
So today, as the world slows down this weekend, I want to say this to every woman who has been silenced, rewritten, or left out:
I see you.
You’re not imagining it.
It's been happening since the dawn of time.
It happened to Mary, too.
And her story is coming back.
And so can you.
If you’ve ever wondered what a spiritual path with women at its centre might look like, I highly recommend this book by Meggan Watterson.
It does come with a warning though, you may be motivated to drop everything to go and hang out in caves in the South of France like I was earlier this year!
I don't regret a thing!
With love and recognition,
Natalie