Monday, June 01, 2009

A place for prayer



I noticed her sitting out there all by herself. She seemed so at peace.

Sister Mary Louise Barba was sitting next to Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence’s new labyrinth with a book on her lap and her eyes to the horizon.

“It’s really special,” Sister Barba said. “To see them all on their hands and knees (to make it) … all the bricks came from (an) old house here,” she said as he points to the stones lining the pathway of the labyrinth.

She smiles and invites me to take a step closer to get a better look.

Sister Barba was waiting for member of the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence congregation to join her for a blessing ceremony of the labyrinth.

Sister Ester Guerrero has suggested the labyrinth to the congregation when they were considering projects to undertake to beautify the grounds. "It was always a dream I had," Sister Guerrero would later tell me. "It was a healing tool for transformation, and I just wanted to provide this quiet place."

Now the project is complete and the Sister’s are caretakers of one of the only labyrinths in South Texas.

Sister Barba comments on how peaceful it is. Shaped by one layer of bricks, barely above the ground, is a winding dirt path that switches back and forth on itself. In the center is an open circle.

We both are still in our silence.

The wildlife chirped and hooted around us and as the white noise of freeway traffic dropped down. A slight breeze rustled through the trees and I watched the light dance across the ground.

Sister Barba was right; it was special.





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