Pilgrimage – Day 10

Blessing for the Journey

May the breath out God blow through your being.
May her Spirit breathe the promise of dawn.
May the breath of God stir a new story.
Hope in the Spirit, O breath of God.

-by Denise Pyles

We sang this blessing often during our pilgrimage. The words now accompany us as we cross another threshold, leaving the company of pilgrims we’ve journeyed with and returning home.

I took this picture of a tree in the centre of a labyrinth path I walked at Disibodinberg. I’m still ruminating on what the knotted burl evoked for me in the midst of the greening ruins.

I’ll carry it as an image of pilgrimage as I sense it with take a while to untwine the gifts of these last ten days.

For today, I offer gratitude as I say goodbye.

Gratitude for...

...the gift of spaciousness of time
...the amazing gifts of creativity and tending presence from our guides, Christine and Betsey
...the blessing of community with fellow pilgrims
...and of course the inspiration and wisdom of Hildegard!

Veriditas!

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September 9-19 Rev. Shawn is on Pilgrimage in Germany: “Hildegard of Bingen and the Greening Power of God”.

St. Hildegard was a 12th century  German Benedictine abbess. She was a mystic, composer, artist, poet, healer, and preacher. These short blog posts share some highlights from Rev Shawn’s pilgrimage.