One of the many hats that I wear is I serve as the Parish Catechetical Leader at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Bruce. This is the time of year when our high school youth are preparing for the Rite of Confirmation which is coming up this Saturday May 14th. I don’t teach their class, Miss Jettie is their teacher but sometimes I ‘listen’ and observe just to keep abreast of how things are going.
We have an awesome group of kids in Jettie’s class. They ask questions, they read their bibles; well…let me shed some light on that subject. Jettie and I have been looking for just the right Study Bible and so far we have not found one that just trips our trigger. In the mean time, I stumbled up on a Bible App for cell phones. I shared this tidbit of information with the kids one night and showed them that they could get a daily reading plan set up and the idea took off. So they now all have the Bible apps! Technology CAN be a good thing. We older folks just have to learn to be more comfortable with it.
About a month ago as I sat watching these kids and listening to them in their class, I was inspired to create a mini-retreat for them to help them discern their path in life as they approach the Rite of Confirmation. As I mulled over what I might do, the idea of a labyrinth took hold of me and the retreat idea took off.
The weather did not cooperate for several days as I gathered all of my materials that I would need and finally one week ago, I was able to bring my ideas to fruition. I laid out the canvas in the driveway and marked the lines for the labyrinth and got it painted. It was tiring but turned out awesome.
The kids and their sponsors and Miss Jettie and Sr. Mary Jean did not know what to expect when we arrived at Davis Lake and started unloading. We had a light lunch and then had fruit kabobs, with different fruits representing the Fruits of the Spirit. Lemon slices was symbolic of Patience and Long Suffering.
Then they all took a slip of paper and wrote down what they wanted to change in their life and the baggage they want to release. I had some beautiful praise music playing and we all went to the labyrinth and started the path to the center. Upon reaching the center they placed their paper in the firepot and then picked up a stone to bring it out as they continued on their path.
The fire pot is made of stone with it hollowed out spot and was sitting at the exact cross mark of the center of the canvas and represented Christ as our light and our corner stone. Burning the paper was them giving up whatever they feel is holding them back at this point in their lives. The rock they chose was Christ is our rock to hold on to. Each stone also had a scripture verse reference painted on it. Each person was eagerly looking up the scripture verse to see what Gift was referenced.
It was a very moving day and I just stand in awe that a tiny spark of inspiration became a flame of more than I had imagined it would be.
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