Sacred Journeys Page 5
Soothe Your Spirit
Make a silent confession and pray for forgiveness for a thought, word, or deed that you regret. Reflect on the special relationship that Mary Magdalene, who was not perfect, had with Jesus, some say as his closest friend, most loyal disciple, and trusted confidante.
A Deeper Look
The Cathedral of the Madeleine (the French spelling of Magdalene) was dedicated in 1909 and rededicated after renovations in 1993. It serves as the mother church for Roman Catholics in Utah.
Cathedral Rock
Sedona, Arizona, United States
A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944), French author
This butte of towering red rock formations juts into the azure desert sky and stands upon one of the strongest energy vortexes on Earth, making it a favorite destination for New Age devotees. But the site has always been sacred to the Yavapai (Native Americans) who have occupied Sedona (Wipik) for centuries. According to legend, a couple who were deeply in love but arguing bitterly drew the attention of the Great Spirit, who chastised them for failing to appreciate the beauty of their union and the natural world around them. As a reminder to respect each other’s views, he turned them into back-to-back pillars of stone—known as Lovers Knoll, a smaller formation between the two large spires of Cathedral Rock.
Whether your path of spirituality resonates with New Age beliefs or you would like to venerate the holiness of nature with a meditation on love, visit Cathedral Rock, 110 miles from Phoenix.
Soothe Your Spirit
Hike the steep trail to one of the saddles (viewing points) with your lover or a beloved friend. Meditate on opening your chakras (energy centers in your ethereal body) to receive Divine love and to transmit love back into the universe.
A Deeper Look
The energy of the vortex is thought to flow upward, which is believed to help connect with the Divine.
Cathédral Saint-Mammès de Langres
Langres, Champagne-Ardenne, France
Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), Protestant minister and author
The Cathédral Saint-Mammès de Langres, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, has twin towers that jut heavenward like outstretched arms beckoning angels to draw near to hear whispered prayers and to soothe the souls of families and children. Welcoming all who come to pray through its festive red doors, the cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mammès of Caesarea, a child whose parents were executed for being Christians. After his own teen martyrdom, Mammès’s relics were taken to the cathedral in Langres in 1209 to be safeguarded along with those of martyred Cappadocian triplets, Saints Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Melapsippus.
If you are inspired by the faith of a child and wish to pray for children or for the souls of the child-saints whose relics are enshrined in the Cathédral Saint-Mammès de Langres, visit the cathedral, which is roughly an hour’s drive northeast of Dijon or 183 miles from Paris and is easily accessible by car or bus.
Soothe Your Spirit
Hold love in your heart for children of all nations as you light a candle and pray to Holy Mother Mary that your faith be as strong as a child’s love for his or her parents and for protection and love for all God’s children.
A Deeper Look
Dedicated in 1196, the cathedral straddles two styles: Burgundy-Romanesque and Gothic. It is a national monument of France and the seat of the bishop of Langres.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, United States
Life is not a continuum of pleasant choices but of inevitable problems that call for strength, determination, and hard work.
—Native American proverb
In Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico stand the ruins of an Anasazi (Pueblo) cultural center that flourished from A.D. 850 to 1250. Although no one knows why the Anasazi left, all Southwest Indian tribes trace their ancestral roots to Chaco Canyon and consider it sacred. That the Chacoan people were able to build this highly advanced community and to thrive in this harsh environment for at least four hundred years is a testament to their fortitude.
To fortify your spirit, take a day trip from Farmington, New Mexico (the nearest city), to Chaco Canyon. Allow at least two hours to drive to and from this remote location and several hours to explore the vast ruins. Bring a picnic and water, and make sure to follow the advice given on the United States National Park Service website: www.nps.gov/chcu/planyourvisit.
Soothe Your Spirit
Drive or bike the 9-mile paved loop, taking time to explore the guided trails of the five major Chacoan sites. Listen to the whispers of the ancients carried on the wind, offering encouragement or perhaps a solution to your problem.
A Deeper Look
This sacred gathering place for the Anasazi included fifteen complexes (great houses)—some several stories high, with hundreds of apartments (rooms) and dozens of kivas (circular ceremonial structures)—designed for celestial alignment and built from quarried sandstone and timber hauled from up to 70 miles away.
Chapel of the Ascension
Jerusalem, Israel
And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
—Bible, Luke 24:50–51
A brick octagonal chapel with a dome marks the sacred site on the Mount of Olives where, according to tradition, Christ ascended into heaven forty days after the Resurrection. The chapel was built over the ruins of Byzantine and Crusader structures in a brick wall enclosure dotted with hooks that secure the tents of pilgrims who gather to commemorate the Ascension and safeguards an imprint of Jesus’ foot in stone.
If you have been thinking about the “footprint” one human life leaves in the lives of others or want to contemplate the meaning of Jesus’ human body ascending into heaven, start the process in this chapel. It lies east of the main road that runs along the top of the Mount of Olives in the suburb of al-Tur and is easily reachable from Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives by bus, taxi, or car (there is parking near the entrance).
Soothe Your Spirit
Light a candle next to the sacred foot imprint and read Mark 16:19 and Acts 1:9–12 from the New Testament. Reflect on the metaphorical “footprint” that Jesus left behind in the lives of those who remained and consider the idea of ascension of the soul, using the spiritual or religious discipline that most appeals to you.
A Deeper Look
The Ascension of Christ has been celebrated since the fourth century. The Chapel of the Ascension is both a Christian and Muslim holy site; in fact, the Islamic-style dome reflects that in the thirteenth century the shrine was a mosque.
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Sedona, Arizona, United States
That the church may come to life in the souls of men and be a living reality—herein lies the whole message of this chapel.
—Marguerite Brunswig Staude (1899–1988), artist who designed and bequeathed the Chapel of the Holy Cross
Looking like a modern cross rising out of an ancient mesa, the Chapel of the Holy Cross is stunning in its simple but brilliant design by Marguerite Brunswig Staude, a student of master architect/designer Frank Lloyd Wright. A massive wall of glass—superimposed with a pale rose-colored cross stretching the full width of the chapel and thrusting 200 feet upward from the stone foundation to the roof—affords spectacular views of God’s creation for miles around.
The chapel, built in 1956, sits on Coconino National Forest land near the New Age mecca of Sedona, where many believe four energy vortexes exist, including one at the site of the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Visit this unique Roman Catholic chapel, which welcomes people of all faiths to infuse their souls with God’s pure love.
Soothe Your Spirit
Let your prayer of love flow from your heart and across the breathtaking Verde Valley with its towering red rock formations jutting into the azure sky.
A Deeper Look
Staude chose the chapel’s site in part because of a red rock formation visible to the east that looks like the Madonna and Child surrounded by rocks that are praying nuns to some visitors and suggestive of the three wise men to others.
Charminar Mosque
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
And know the help of God comes through patience and comfortable circumstances with distress and that difficulty is accompanied by ease.
—Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (A.D. 1077–1166), Muslim cleric
When Indian ruler Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah prayed to stop the misery and suffering of his people from the plague, he vowed that if his prayers were answered he would build a masjid on the site of his prayers. His jewel in India, Charminar (Mosque of the Four Minarets), stands as an elegant sixteenth-century testament to the veracity of the sultan’s promise. The mosque’s Cazia (Indo-Islamic medieval) architectural style features four towering minarets (160 feet high) topped with bulbous domes that are embellished with petal motifs that may symbolize the first four caliphs of Islam.
If you seek spiritual rejuvenation, worship at this lovely mosque in the Old City of Hyderabad, in South India. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is about 13 miles from the city. Local buses, taxis, and rickshaws will get you there from virtually anywhere in Hyderabad.
Soothe Your Spirit
Pray in the mosque’s open area during Friday prayers (with larger numbers of people, men and women pray in separate areas) or in one of the four upper galleries inside the carved minarets (each gallery accommodates forty-five prayer spaces).
A Deeper Look
The Charminar Mosque, built in 1591, has been called the “Arc de Triomphe” of the East. See it at its most spectacular at night when the mosque is illuminated.
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres, France
And it was then that in the depths of sleep / Someone breathed to me: “You alone can do it, / Come immediately.”
—from “The Call” by Jules Supervielle (1884–1960), French poet born in Uruguay, trans. Geoffrey Gardner
When French pilgrims could not travel to Jerusalem during the Middle Ages to do penance or to pray for forgiveness of their sins, they sought closer sanctuary in local places of worship such as Chartres, perhaps the most magnificent of the French Gothic cathedrals. With its flying buttresses, exquisite carvings, the two towers soaring over its pale green roof, and the effulgent light and vertical space in the nave, the church provided a beatific sanctuary for worshippers, especially those who venerated Mother Mary. The cathedral safeguards the Sancta Camisia, or cloak of the Blessed Virgin.
Whether your goal is to pay homage to the Mother of Christ and venerate the relic of the Sancta Camisia, which was given to the cathedral by Charles the Bald, or to spend time in self-introspection and prayer, Chartres Cathedral, about 50 miles from Paris, provides a stunning setting, on a grand scale, and spiritual tools (such as its labyrinth) for you to further those spiritual goals.
Soothe Your Spirit
Feel the vibe of the sanctuary as you enter the nave and notice light through the beautiful 176 stained glass windows that reflects on everything. Proceed to the 42-foot labyrinth; walk it with your mind and heart united in prayer.
A Deeper Look
The four-quadrant labyrinth was laid into the floor in the thirteenth century to help the spiritual seeker draw closer to God while following the labyrinth to its center. The walk ends on the rose, a sacred symbol in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity of the human heart unfolding to transcendent Truth that is God. If the goal was penance, medieval pilgrims would move along the labyrinth on their knees.
Church of Madonna del Ghisallo (Chapel of the Madonna of Ghisallo)
Magreglio, Como, Italy
Love conquers all.
—Encryption on dedication stone of the Museo del Ciclismo, Pope Benedict XVI (1927–), elected to the Papacy in 2005
This tiny chapel on the summit of Madonna del Ghisallo—a steep hill in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy—is legendary among cyclists around the world. The legend originated in the seventeenth century after Count Ghisallo ran toward an apparition of Mother Mary as he was being attacked by highway robbers, saving his life. In gratitude, he built the church on the hill named for his Marian apparition, who became the local patroness of travelers. Later, cyclists adopted the icon as their patroness, and in 1949, Pope Pius XII decreed Madonna del Ghisallo the patron saint of cyclists. At the church’s center is an “eternal flame” bestowing blessings on the thousands of cyclists—and other travelers—who happen by.
Whether you seek the courage to pursue your passion or the blessings of your trek through God’s country, take a road trip to Madonna del Ghisallo. From Como or Bellagio, travel by rental car, local guide, or bicycle (fit, trained cyclists only).
Soothe Your Spirit
Pray for safe passage as you follow your bliss or continue your cycling adventure in Italy.
A Deeper Look
In 2000, when the building of the Museo del Ciclismo (next door) was approved, cyclists conducted a torch relay from the church to the Vatican. In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI laid the final stone.
Church of Our Lady
Bruges, Belgium
Listen to your life . . . Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are sacred moments and life itself is grace.
—Frederick Beuchner (1926–), American writer and theologian
The art inside the Church of Our Lady in Bruges speaks to the soul. While Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child beckons worshippers to remember the humanity of his subjects, the painting of the crucified Christ by van Dyck evokes the suffering of Jesus, and the tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter who died at age twenty-five demonstrate that life can end in an instant and induce contemplation of life’s moments as sacred.
If you want to discover your spiritual core or to see sacred art, visit this site. The church is located at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerkhof Zuid. Take the train from Brussels to Bruges (sixty minutes). The E40 connects Calais and Ostend to Bruges, as does the train. Various shuttle-bus services run to Bruges from Charleroi airport.
Soothe Your Spirit
Use your senses to see the potential for transformation or deepening faith in your life. Make this your prayer: “Holy One: Teach me to listen to my life. Bless my vision that I may see all moments of my life as sacred. Let me live in gratitude and appreciation for this blessed gift of grace.”
A Deeper Look
Michelangelo created the Madonna and Child for the Cathedral of Siena, but when the cathedral couldn’t pay for it, Bruges merchants Jan and Alexander Moscroen purchased it in 1506.
Church of Saint Anne
Jerusalem, Israel
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
—Bible, John 5:2–9
When Saint Anne and her husband, Joachim, observed their beloved daughter at play, most likely they needed to take only a few steps from the house in which Anne was born and later their child, the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the site, in 1130, the Crusaders constructed a Romanesque church featuring a domed basilica with a cross-vaulted ceiling supported by ornate columns and capitals. Nearby, you can still see the biblical Bethesda pool, where sheep were given purification baths before being sacrificed and where Jesus healed a man from an illness.
Whether you wish to conceive a child or to venerate the patron saint of childless and pregnant women, visit the Church of Saint Anne. The saint’s feast day is July 26 (July 25 on the Eastern Orthodox calendar). Reach the church on foot or use local transportation, as it is situated near the Lion’s Gate near the Via Dolorosa.
Soothe Your Spirit
Breathe in the tranquility and pray or give thanks for the blessing of parenthood in this sanctuary honoring the grandmother of Jesus and mother of the Virgin Mary (in Roman Catholic and Islamic traditions) and the Forebear of God (in Eastern Orthodox tradition).
A Deeper Look
In 1856, the Ottoman sultan, appreciative of French support during the Crimean War, subsequently gifted the Church of Saint Anne to the Roman Catholic White Fathers.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Jerusalem, Israel
And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning of the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?