As autumn arrives at Nazareth, participants gathered at the newly restored labyrinth behind the Guest House on Sept. 22 for a moment of prayer, reflection and renewed connection with creation.
“Walking Through Autumn” marked the autumnal equinox and was part of “The Turning of the Seasons: A Laudato Si’ Series,” a yearlong collaboration between the Nazareth Retreat Center and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province Office of Social and Environmental Justice.
The gathering also marked a new chapter for the labyrinth following its recent restoration.
After a welcome from Misty Musk, director of the Nazareth Retreat Center, participants joined in a rededication ritual led primarily by Sister Sharon Gray and Sister Lisa Polega.
The prayer reflected on the labyrinth as a place connecting people with one another, creation and God, while giving thanks for those who have walked its path in the past and those who will walk it in the future. “It reminds us that we are connected to one another, to all creation, and to the Creator, who lovingly sustains all things,” Sister Sharon said.
A stone was then removed from the labyrinth and carried by Misty among those gathered. Each person held it briefly and offered a silent prayer or blessing before passing it to the next person. Participants were invited to pray for another person, someone in need, the Earth or those seeking peace and healing.
Sister Sharon held the stone as participants blessed the labyrinth together. The stone was then returned to its place, representing how individual prayers and blessings become part of a larger community. The rededication concluded with a prayer that the labyrinth’s winding path would invite reflection, its center offer stillness and its beauty inspire gratitude.
“May this path continue to be a place of peace, healing, wisdom, and spiritual renewal,” Sister Sharon prayed.
The ritual recognized not only the sacred space but also the people who helped bring new life to it. Misty gathered volunteers who contributed their time and efforts to restoring the labyrinth so it could again serve as a place for prayer, contemplation and community at Nazareth.
The afternoon also reflected the Western Province’s commitment to its Laudato Si’ Action Plan. Before walking the labyrinth, participants considered how the ancient spiritual practice connects with Pope Francis’ call in Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home to contemplate creation, listen to its “silent voice” and deepen relationships with God and the Earth.
Sister Lisa shared passages from Laudato Si’, including Pope Francis’ reflection that the material world speaks of God’s love through the soil, water and mountains. Another passage reminded participants that people are not separate from the rest of creation but joined together in a “universal communion.”
Misty, a Veriditas-trained labyrinth facilitator, then guided the group through the walk. She explained that a labyrinth is not a maze. There are no wrong turns or dead ends design to trick. Instead, one path leads toward the center and then outward again. Labyrinths have been used for centuries as places of contemplation, including the well-known labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France.
Participants were encouraged to approach the walk through three movements: release, receive and return.
“What am I being invited to let fall?” invited reflection on release. “What wisdom does this season offer me?” focused on receiving. Finally, participants considered what they would carry back into “our common home” as they returned from the center.
The questions were invitations rather than assignments. Participants could simply walk, breathe and notice.
The cool day provided a fitting setting for the practice. Trees release their leaves not because life has ended, but because life is changing form. In the same way, participants were invited to consider what might be changing, releasing or being restored within their own lives.
The experience also emphasized that walking a labyrinth does not have to produce a particular spiritual insight. Instead, like other spiritual practices, its meaning can emerge through returning to the path again and again.
The hour concluded with silence and an invitation for participants to share a word or brief reflection on a simple question: What did autumn, or the labyrinth, place before you today?
The closing prayer gave thanks for the sacred space and for all whose hands helped restore it and will continue to care for it.
“May this path remain a place of peace, connection, and reverence for our common home.”
With its restoration and rededication, the labyrinth once again offers Sisters, Associates, retreatants and visitors to Nazareth a quiet place to walk, pray and listen, while remembering the call to care for one another and the Earth we share.