Catholics Don't Worship Mary And The Saints, We Venerate Them.
The image of a labyrinth is often depicted in mythology and stories, but it is not often that you see one in real life that is considered safe to walk through. However, I remember when I was in my late teens visiting a particular convent that had one in their front garden. It wasn’t the kind you might imagine – some cave-like structure that has many dead ends, but a simple design on the garden ground that allowed one to walk through and meditate upon the twists and turns of it.
When I think of a labyrinth, and walking through one, I picture a journey, not just a journey through the labyrinth to the centre, but a journey in my life. As one gets closer to the centre, through the twists and turns, one may be tempted to think that they are being led to yet another dead end for some time, that one is back at square one, where one started, since that path did not lead to the centre. There may be many times one must turn back and try a different direction. However, eventually, should one persist, one will reach the centre.
Put this in the context of life. Each twist and turn of the labyrinth is a decision in one’s life journey. Each dead end is a lesson to be learned. Each time you think you went back to square one, because you could not see the full picture, you were actually drawing closer to the end goal – the centre – to God’s unique vocation for you. There may be many things you try, but you don’t find that peace, that fulfilment, that place you are longing for – the place God wants you to be. However, the many paths you try teach you lessons that need to be learnt, that need to be there to prepare you for what God will throw at you when you find your vocation and path in life. So, if you persist, then you will eventually reach there (please God!)…
However, that is only the first path, then, in finding what is at the centre, what you truly long for in the deepest part of your heart, and the vocation God has blessed you with, the journey on the way out to share the inherent goodness God has blessed you with starts as you journey out of the labyrinth of life. Each twist and turn represents another decision, another direction, another lesson to be learnt. Each time you reach a dead end you may initially have doubts, but perhaps you will discover more. Therefore, persevere and get out of the labyrinth so that as Jesus sent his disciples off to places to evangelise and share the Good News (as seen in Matthew 28:20), you too may “go and make disciples of all the nations”.
So, don’t give up, but persevere. Even though life may seem hard, with no direction at times, remember that even if we feel we have lost our way, we only need to turn to God to ask Him to lead and guide us by His Holy Spirit, because He has the full picture, and the map to show us the right direction, according to His Will and His plan for us. Trust in God, and Seek Him at all times!