By Mary Owen
A labyrinth with all the elements of the 11-circuit medieval original at Chartres Cathedral in France is the newest highlight at Shalom Prayer Center in Mt. Angel.
“The labyrinth is one of many tools to enhance prayer, meditation, contemplation and spiritual growth,” said Sr. Dorothy Jean Beyer about the new acquisition. “The walker can stop any place on the path for insights into personal growth.”
Recently purchased from Veriditas of San Francisco, the labyrinth has long been a dream for the Benedictine sisters who run the peace center. An anonymous donor through the Evergreen Charitable Trust Fund made it possible for the sisters’ decade-long dream to come true.
Installed on Nov. 19 in the Sycamore Conference Room on the first floor of the Shalom Prayer Center, the labyrinth is a modified seven-circuit, 24-foot octagonal, white-and-purple painted canvas that replicates the original in France. The Shalom Center canvas, weighing 48 pounds, is formulated according to “sacred geometry,” Beyer said.
“The path is 1-foot wide,” she said. “This smaller pattern retains the full six-petal rosette center and entrance/exit similar to the 11-circuit pattern.”
Six labyres form the cross as do the 10 labyres in the 11-circuit pattern.
“Contained within is the ancient spiral,” Beyer said. “There are 77 lunations that surround the circumference.”
According to Beyer, the modified Chartres-like pattern is easily accessible to children and the elderly because of the shorter walk.
“Yet it still provides the full benefit of the longer walk,” she said.
“Those who use the labyrinth find peace because it is a spiritual tool for focusing one’s energy, to be silent, to pray, to seek union with God,” she said.
The labyrinth can be taken outdoors on good-weather days, Beyer said.
“We are seeking funds to install an outdoor labyrinth, which will be very special out in God’s creation,” she added.
Visitors and guests at the Shalom Prayer Center are already engaging in walks around the labyrinth, Beyer said.
“Labyrinths are found in many cultures as far back as 3500 BC,” she said. “Medieval Christians visited Chartres Cathedral and other cathedrals to walk the labyrinth as an alternative to taking a hazardous pilgrimage to Jerusalem to walk in the ‘footsteps of Christ.’ The advantage of the labyrinth is that walkers are free to approach the walk in their own way.”
One retreat-goer recently told Beyer, “I was delighted when I discovered that the Shalom Prayer Center has now installed a walking labyrinth. I have used them on occasion elsewhere, but I have never been able to utilize this spiritual tool multiple times a day as I did during my recent five-day retreat at the center.”
“It was an amazing experience,” the retreat-goer added. “Each time I walked the path, I gained new insights into my spiritual life.”
Shalom Prayer Center, a ministry of Queen of Angels Monastery, is rooted in the tradition of Benedictine spirituality. The center is open to person of all faiths and cultural traditions who wish “to seek wholeness and deepen their relationship with God,” according to their Web site information.
For information, call Beyer at 503-845-6773, or visit the Shalom Prayer Center at 840 S. Main St., Mt. Angel.
