The Labyrinth and Meditative Garden
St. Anthony’s Labyrinth was completed in 2022 in memory of Fr. John Baran, who envisioned a “labyrinth sanctuary” for all to come for solitude, prayer, and comfort away from daily activities. Designed by Liz Short Ramsey, M.S., the labyrinth is a beautiful and peaceful arrangement of plants, bushes, ornamental trees, and evergreens.
As the site of St. Anthony’s Convent, which was removed in 2015, the site of the Labyrinth has great significance in the history of the parish. Fr. Baran asked that the Brass Cross that was at the convent entrance be saved. The cross now marks the center of the Labyrinth.
What is a Labyrinth?
Labyrinths are ancient spiritual tools that have been part of human history for thousands of years and can be found all over the world. All labyrinths are unicursal, featuring a single path through intricately wound circuits, that leads into the center and back.
No one really knows their origins, nor are there clues as to how the same symbol came to flourish in cultures widely separated by time and space. There are myths and stories that have been passed down through generations which suggest that ancient cultures walked the labyrinth for good fortune, protection, connection with the sacred, pilgrimages, and healing.
In the Christian tradition, the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France (which dates to 1205) was used for contemplative moments. Likely the most well-known, the Chartres labyrinth has been reproduced all over the world.
Walking a labyrinth can be a metaphor for life. Our lives are a journey in which our experiences, our sorrows and joys, our challenges, and our decisions influence how we live that journey. Symbolic of this journey, the labyrinth gives us a meditative tool to focus on and encounter the sacred in our evolving lives. The Worldwide Labyrinth Locator has recorded close to 6,000 labyrinths in 85 countries.
Walking the Labyrinth
Walking a labyrinth can be a contemplative practice where you begin by choosing your intention and then, holding your intention in your heart and awareness, you walk forth in a guided, contemplative, embodied prayer practice which can be transformative.
One Method
Arrive, stop, sit, reflect, listen and form an intention for why you are walking the labyrinth today.
On entering the labyrinth, choose to embrace the process of “letting go” of the activity of your mind to follow the path of release and freedom.
The process to still the mind can include releasing memories, worries, tensions, impulses, fears, losses, grief, confusion, anxiety, inadequacy. It may also be a time to sink into the stillness and find the peace within you.
At the center, allow yourself to arrive and connect with the center of yourself. Come home to yourself with an awareness of having let go. Take the time to pause, breathe, reflect, open yourself, settle into a state of receptivity and listening to your inner wisdom, and feel for your readiness to proceed. Then begin your step forward.
Walking out from the center with a still mind, you can listen to the sounds, sensations, thoughts, sights, movements, momentum, and meaning of what is calling you forward. Be open to insight, sensations of peace and connection preparing you for fulfilling your intention. Listen for the opening of your heart and the call that takes you forward on the grace of your heart’s desire.
Upon leaving the labyrinth, pause and reflect on your state, the physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions you are experiencing. Find the yes alive within you. Focus on what you have experienced and where you will take these revelations into your life. Keep listening for your heart’s desire which releases the energy to carry you forward.
Discernment happens in stages. When we are embracing letting go of the past, we may not be ready to receive the full guidance of the Spirit which will take us into the future. Be open, accepting your current place in this journey. Honor the gifts of the Spirit today, moving you forward in the way you are now ready to embrace.