Our Lady of the Pines

     Finger Labyrinth

Denis Bolohan, a Canadian artist,

created our finger labyrinth in flagstone.

It is made after the pattern of the labyrinth

at Chartres Cathedral in France with the

illumination area designed by Denis after

the Celtic tradition to reflect the Irish roots

of the Sisters of Mercy who were founded

by Catherine McAuley in Dublin Ireland in 1831.

The symbol of the labyrinth is found in many locations around the world, in Europe, the East, and in the Americas. The labyrinth provides a method of meditation that is an important spiritual practice for the journey inward. The labyrinth is an archetype found in many spiritual traditions. Unlike a maze, the labyrinth has only one path that quiets the mind as the winding course is followed to the center.

This walking labyrinth has only one path so 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. So walk it with an open mind and an open heart.

Take off your shoes if you can do so comfortably. Walk the labyrinth at a slow pace. There are three stages of the walk:

FIRST: Your journey from the edge of the labyrinth until you reach the center is shedding, a releasing, a letting go of the details of your life.

SECOND: Illumination is 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.

THIRD: As you leave, following the same path out of the center you came in upon,

you enter the third stage – Union – which is joining God.