As I awaken to Easter morning, and I’m catapulted back to my days as a young Catholic girl. I was deeply devoted to Easter, to Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. I learned to believe it—it was my truth, passed down by my parents, twelve years of Catholic education, and what I now call my indoctrination into spirituality.

Although I’ve long since left behind the Catholic religion and its ideology, I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge the gift it gave me: the belief in something greater than myself—a Power I could rely on, no matter what. I never fully accepted the idea of a God in the sky, but my faith in that greater Presence carried me through many challenges. At the time, I might have called it God, Mother Mary, or a saint’s name, but it was all the same to me—a sacred Power, unearthly and beyond the scope of my small life. I bowed to it. I also punished myself for my perceived alienation from it—my so-called sins. While it offered comfort, it also cast a shadow: I never felt good enough to deserve its love.

Years passed. I explored many spiritual paths—Mormonism, the Church of Shirley MacLaine—and then one day, I walked into my first Science of Mind church. Everything clicked. There was no outside God. Jesus wasn’t my savior—he was my way-shower. The Power and Presence of Love lived within me. I wouldn’t be punished for my sins, but rather by them. I wasn’t a sinner. I was a divine individualization of this Great Power, waking up to my true self.

The title of what I’m calling my Easter/Passover message is “Grow Up! Wake Up! Rise Up!”
These three commands capture the essence of my spiritual journey. To grow up, I had to walk many paths and bash my soul against beliefs that told me I was less than my true self. I had to try, fall, and fail countless times. Then, the day I walked into the Science of Mind church, I began to wake up. It wasn’t sudden—it was a gradual, step-by-step awakening, requiring much effort and willingness on my part.

Where am I now? I am rising. Rising as I continue to shed every belief that tells me I’m less than I am. I’m so grateful I chose the path of ministry, as it has invited me to take this journey deeply and wholeheartedly—it has become my life.

Today, as we celebrate Easter and the conclusion of Passover, I don’t need to retell the traditional stories. Instead, I refer to them as metaphors, seen through the lens of New Thought.

I used to wonder why New Thought didn’t have its own spiritual holidays. I even felt a little sad about it. But then I realized—we are more blessed than ever. We get to celebrate them all: Christmas, Equinoxes, Easter, even New Year’s—each one an opportunity to explore the deeper metaphysical truths they hold. We are radically inclusive. We can celebrate the risen Christ as the rising of consciousness within us. We can see Passover as the release from the Pharaoh of limiting beliefs that keep us enslaved. We can cross the Red Sea of consciousness in faith, trusting we are always supported.

As we roll away the stone of self-imposed limitation, we see the light of that clear blue morning, bringing peace of mind no matter what we’re going through. Life isn’t about what happens to us—it’s about how we perceive and respond to it.

My God is not distant or cloud-bound. My God is current. Ever-present. Always available. Offering peace, guidance, and power. I have the ability to create a life I love by aligning with this Power, as do we all. It’s not withholding anything—it’s always giving us more to awaken to.

In The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes wrote, “The time has come to unbind the mind of man and set it free.”
That, to me, is the message of both Passover and Easter: a call to liberate ourselves from the mental, emotional, and spiritual chains we no longer need—and to step boldly into the truth of who we are.

How do we do that? The same way the Israelites did: They made a decision to be free. They acted on it. They took a leap of faith into the unknown.

If the story of Jesus’s resurrection is more than a story, it’s a call—a call to release any belief that holds us back from our true selves. Again, it begins with a decision.

On this Easter morning, my invitation is simple:
Make the decision. Once and for all.
To grow.
To wake up.
To rise.

No one is coming to save us—because we don’t need saving. We are both the saviors and the saved. By following in the footsteps of great spiritual teachers like Jesus, Moses, and others who came after, we step into our own sacred journey. Today, I ask you to consider the possibility that you, too, are on a personal path of resurrection—awakening the divine greatness that has always been within you.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Dr. Rita Andriello-Feren, Author and Co-Founding Spiritual Director CSL Kaua’i