Eternal Flame of Hope

Have you ever been on a pilgrimage to a sacred place that lingers in your heart for years? Saint Brigid’s Well in Kildare, Ireland, is one of those exceptional places for me.

At the entrance of the garden, a statue of Saint Brigid holding an eternal flame of hope greets pilgrims. The day that Spiritual Directors International pilgrims journeyed to the well, the sky was Ireland-overcast, but not brooding. Bright orange and yellow leaves of autumn welcomed us as if Brigid had painted the colors of sunrise onto the silent trees. No wind. It was the perfect setting to contemplate, absorb, and be enlightened by the Celtic goddess and Christian saint, Brigid.

In a grassy field, five large boulders mark places to pray next to the well. One stone at a time, Regina Roman, our pilgrim guide, led us in contemplating five story prayers about Brigid’s life:

Brigid, a woman of the land;  

Brigid, the peacemaker;

Brigid, friend of the poor;  

Brigid, woman of the hearth;

Brigid, woman of contemplation.

By the time we reached the fifth boulder, I felt a warm sensation in my heart and an overwhelming sense of who Brigid was and continues to be for Ireland and increasingly for people around the world and across traditions. It was Brigid’s commitment to her contemplative life that made possible her servant leadership: bridging wealthy and poor, healthy and sick, new worlds and old. Of course—I thought—Brigid, woman of contemplation!

As a way of integrating our journey to the well, Brigid’s light was ritually offered by Regina to each pilgrim. I remember standing in a silent circle, basking in radiant light. Brigid is always with us, eternally offering hope and encouraging us to pass it on.   

Reflection:

Brigid’s feast day is celebrated at the beginning of February, in the middle of dark winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In Ireland, the whole month of February, known at Min a Feile Bride (Month of the Festival of Brigid) honors her spirit of hope and light, reminding us that spring will soon arrive. How might February be a time of receiving light and passing it on?

Through Thick and Thin: Reflections from Italy

A tear slipped from my spiritual directee’s rough, bearded face as he explored gratitude for a longtime friend now in hospice care. “Yeah,” he said. “My buddy and I have been together through thick and thin.” For him, thick and thin referred to good times and bad; times of plenty and times of want. Lately, I’ve been pondering thick and thin from a different perspective.

As my excitement grows for the upcoming Spiritual Directors International pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy, memories of my first pilgrimage are bubbling up. Rome and Assisi, Italy, are places that provide some of my happiest memories of experiencing both thick and thin. Rome for me was thick. Assisi was thin. Allow me to explain.

Thick time for me is sacred time. One hour is one hour—sixty minutes—no more, no less. But that same period of time can be experienced very differently. One hour at a tedious board meeting or shopping for groceries is often experienced very differently than the same sixty minutes spent at the bedside of a dying friend or in the arms of a lover. Time has the capacity to become thick depending on the amount of attention and intention I offer to that moment. I still remember well my first shot of espresso slugged down at a Roman café; the first gelato gliding across my tongue at a local gelateria; an afternoon riposo watching an old woman water the geraniums on her sun-drenched balcony; the scent of orange blossoms on the Roman night air after a day of walking the busy streets of the Eternal City. Those moments were thick. They became sacred time. Rome provided one experience after another of thick time.

Thin space for me is sacred space. I can be in a place and experience just the surface of my surroundings. I can view everything as distinct from myself: a curiosity, another ho-hum wall of a building, or another trap for tourists. I can also dive deep through the illusion of separateness and pierce the veil. Approaching with intention, I can plumb the depth of story that pulses through every piazza, rises from every rock, and beats in every building. From my first time in Assisi twenty-two years ago, I can still hear the reverberations of whispers in the tiny room where Clare of Assisi prayed for forty-one years; the deep silence of the woods outside the hermitage of the Carceri; and the feeling of coming home when I caught my first glimpse of the pink-stoned city of Assisi rising above the Umbrian valley. Those places were thin. They became sacred space. Every cobblestone of Assisi provided access to a world of thin space.

Undertaking a pilgrimage is to open oneself to the experience of sacred times and sacred spaces. I look forward to returning to Assisi and Rome. I encourage you to find the means to join me and the other pilgrims. Together we will be with each other through thick and thin.

Editor’s note: David Lidel, TOR, is a Franciscan brother and one of the pilgrim guides for the SDI Interfaith Pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy, in 2012. Registration is still open for the pilgrimage--join us cultivate compassion in Assisi! For more information visit http://bit.ly/SDIPilgrimage. 

Year of the Dragon

Spring Dragon by Masaaki Shibano

Today, January 17, marks the seventeen year anniversary of the Hanshin disaster from the eight magnitude earthquake in my residential area. It has also been about ten months since the Higashi-nihon (eastern district of Japan) earthquake disaster and nuclear power catastrophe that occurred last year.

Natural disasters like earthquakes are hard to prevent, but nuclear accidents can be expected, in a sense. Disasters caused by nature and human errors are a huge tragedy that we in Japan faced and are still facing now. Essentially, we should reflect on how nature and human beings could live in harmony, with human wisdom learning from the energy of nature.

As a spiritual director, I believe there are many things we can do. Being with people who have suffered and listening to them provides support during these unexpected tragedies. We need each other. Spiritual direction offers caring hearts, sympathetic interactions, and love.

I feel so much power from others by remembering that Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you." [Paraphrased from several verses in Christian scripture.]

We received so much support from around the world; some people sent their hearts in prayer and other people came here to share their hearts, even though they were in a dangerous situation. I feel a deep connection among people who have faced and are now facing hardship of any kind. Please remember that we are so grateful for your supportive hearts and love for us.

As 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, I painted two kinds of green dragons. I hope this year is special for all people on the planet.

Rising Dragon by Masaaki Shibano

 I titled the first painting Spring Dragon; it depicts Green Dragon who dwells in the east to bring spring to us as a guardian God. The second one is titled Rising Dragon which illustrates how Green Dragon raises us as far as we love one another, higher than Mount Fuji.

It is the moment for all of us to remember that Jesus told us to love one another as a true friend, for here and there, we now see that there are rising and shifting movements of a new consciousness within us, among us, and around us.

Sending you peace and love in the new year,

Masaaki Shibano, Osaka, Japan

P.S. The words below the paintings translate to "peace in the Lord" with my signature and seal.

Seeking God

"The Magi Journeying" by James Tissot

What can we learn about spiritual direction from the Western Christian feast day of Epiphany, celebrated on January 6? Three wise seekers follow a star; they travel with spiritual companions. They do not know quite what they are searching for. They trust the journey.

The feast day of Epiphany enlightens the global human story of spiritual direction—the Magi model how to seek God.

Most Epiphany illustrations show three wise men at night, with a brilliant star to guide them. In the painting, “The Magi Journeying,” James Tissot captures a different glimpse of the wise men’s trek. Tissot invites us to experience their journey in the harsh daytime heat of the desert.

Look into the faces of the people in the Tissot painting. What questions do the seekers invoke that may be helpful in your new year of spiritual direction? Here are some questions to ponder:

1. How did the three wise men recognize God in the baby they found in Bethlehem?
2. Who are all the people on camels and on foot following for miles through barren terrain?
3. During the stark, rocky, daylight hours, with no visible star to guide them, what spiritual practices helped this community get along? What gave sustenance for the journey and prepared them for God’s revelation?

These questions are great spiritual direction discernments for today.

Epiphany has its roots in the Greek verb epiphaneia, "to appear," and also means "appearance" or "manifestation." Today, we say we had an epiphany when, “Aha! I see what I hadn’t seen before.” Something is revealed that changes our perspective, and sometimes, an epiphany is so profound it changes everything.

Staring at the painting, you may have an epiphany: Imagine the three Magi are traveling through time, with us among the followers in the long human tradition of seeking God. Another interpretation: Imagine the three wise men as paradoxically not-yet and eternally-always finding God, who is outside the frame of the painting, right in front of them, perhaps even in the childlike innocence and love of the viewers’ eyes and hearts.

The Magi recognized God in their midst and celebrated their discovery by reverencing the Christ with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Seeking and finding God changed everything.

In a recent Christian Century article, Amy Frykholm writes about “the spiritual direction movement.” Thank you for being part of the spiritual direction global movement. Around the world and across traditions, seeking and finding God is changing everything. Can you see it?

Reflection

How do you recognize God in your midst? How is spiritual direction changing you and the people with whom you companion? Share your stories here.