The Catholic Community of Saint Cecilia
3802 Main Street, Warrensburg, New York 12885
Tel: 518-623-3021 email: sister.linda@stceciliaschurch.com
 

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Labyrinths


 

 

Whoever you are, walking the labyrinth has something to offer. If a project is challenging you, walking can get your creative juices flowing. When struggling with grief or anger, or a physical challenge or illness, walking the labyrinth can point the way to healing and wholeness. If you're looking for a way to meditate or pray that engages your body as well as your soul, the labyrinth provides such a path. When you just want reflective time away from a busy life, the labyrinth can offer you time out. The labyrinth holds up a mirror, reflecting back to us not only the light of our finest selves, but also whatever restrains us from shining forth.

-Melissa Gayle West, Exploring the Labyrinth

 

What is a Labyrinth?  

What is a labyrinth? It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation that can become a mirror of the soul. A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is designed for you to lose your way; a labyrinth is designed for you to find your way.

-Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress  

The labyrinth is found in almost every religious tradition around the world. The labyrinth has only one path; there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joys.

The Chartres, 11-circuit Labyrinth was constructed around 1201 AD in the stone floor of Chartres Cathedral in Frances. Medieval Christians visited Chartres (and other cathedrals) and walked labyrinths as an alternative to taking a hazardous pilgrimage to Jerusalem to walk in the "foot steps of Christ." Modern "pilgrims" walk the labyrinth to enhance prayer, contemplation, meditation and/or personal growth. Labyrinths are currently being used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, find balance, and encourage meditation, insight and celebration. They are open to all people as a non-denominational, cross-cultural tool of well-being. They can be found in medical centers, parks, churches, schools, prisons, memorial parks and retreat centers as well as in people's backyards.

Walking a Labyrinth

There are three stages of the walk:

- Releasing - A releasing, a letting go of the details of your life. This is the act of shedding thoughts and distractions. A time to open the heart and quiet the mind.

- Receiving - When you reach the center, stay there as long as you like. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive what is there for you to receive.

- Returning - As you leave, following the same path out of the center as you came in, you enter the third stage, which is joining God at work in your world.

Each time you walk the labyrinth you become empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul reaching for.

 

Guidelines for the walk:  Quiet your mind and become aware of your breath.

There is no right way or wrong way to walk a labyrinth, simply follow the path.

Allow yourself to find your own natural pace, the pace your body wants to go.

The path is two ways. Those going in will meet those coming out. You may

"pass" people or let others step around you. Do what feels natural. Walk it with an open mind and an open heart. Let go of any expectations you may have.

Whatever experience you have is the right one for you.

 

Other ways to walk the labyrinth:

Intentional walks - where you address a specific intention, issue or concern as you walk.

Intercessory walks - offer prayer for people or needs.

Meditative walks - Repeat a specific word or passage, or pray repetitively, such as the "Lord have mercy" or "Let there be peace on earth."

 

Resources:

www.gracecathedral.org

Walking a Sacred Path; Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice

by Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

Exploring the Labyrinth; A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth

by Melissa Gayle West

Labyrinths; a brief history of labyrinths and their modern usage

by John Ridder

www.srlabyrinthfoundation.com

 

Saint Cecilia's Labyrinth is located directly behind the convent at 3802 Main Street in Warrensburg.  It is open to the public.  All are welcome. Click here to see the labyrith.

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The Catholic Community of Saint Cecilia
3802 Main Street, Warrensburg, New York 12885
Tel: 518-623-3021 email: sister.linda@stceciliaschurch.com

In Loving Memory of...

Cosmo S. Finocchio
March 9, 1970 - April 26, 2014

Gerard Schuster
Feb 7, 1962 - Sept. 18, 2008

Web questions? Direct to... webmaster@stceciliaschurch.com