BUCKSPORT, Maine — Stephanie Carignan described walking a labyrinth as “prayer in motion.”
“When I’m moving, I’m concentrating totally on breathing and stepping in the right spot,” the Bucksport woman said. “For some reason, when I’m walking the labyrinth, I’m able to be more open in God’s love.”
That is one of the reasons Suzanne Castonguay of East Orland suggested laying out a labyrinth on the basement floor at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church as part of the congregation’s ecumenical Wednesday Taize services during Advent.
“For me personally, the labyrinth provides a different kind of sacred prayer space,” Castonguay said Monday. “Walking through the different circuits kind of simulates our journey toward God. When people get to the center, it is a place we can lay down a burden we are struggling with and carry God back out with us.”
The labyrinth appears to be making a comeback in Catholic and Protestant churches as a tool for prayer and contemplation. Several churches, including Trinity Episcopal Church in Portland, regularly use a maze printed on canvas for public labyrinth walks. The Cliff House Spa and Resort in Ogunguit has a permanent outdoor labyrinth built on a wide terrace.
Some of the earliest forms of pre-Christian labyrinths are found in Greece and date back to between 2500 and 2000 B.C., according to the Sacred Labyrinth Walk website. On the island of Crete, Daedalus built a vast maze at the direction of King Minos to house the Minotaur, a monster that was half-man, half-bull, according to mythology.
Early Christian labyrinths date back to the fourth century, according to the website. Most in Maine have seven concentric circles and are 20 to 35 feet wide. The labyrinth on the cathedral floor at Chartres, France, is one of the world’s largest with 12 concentric circles.
“The ideal setting is outside where a permanent labyrinth is created with shrubbery or rocks,” Castonguay said. “I’ve made one using a bag of lime to mark the lines on a lawn but their success depends on the weather. Our small congregation can’t afford one of the canvas labyrinths, so painter’s tape seemed like the best solution.”
Venora Cote had walked a spiritual labyrinth three or four times before last Wednesday, when she stepped in what looked like a circular maze illuminated by candles on the floor at St. Vincent’s.
“For me, it’s more spiritual outside if the weather permits,” said Cote, of Bucksport, “but the Taize music is a big part of it for me. I like spirituality and the repetition of it.”
Taize is the name given to the singing of distinctive and much-repeated prayer chants during candlelit prayer services. It comes from the Taize Community, a community of Catholic and Protestant brothers based in Taize, France.
The music associated with the community highlights simple phrases, usually lines from the Psalms or other pieces of Scripture, repeated or sung in canon, according to the information on the Taize Community’s website. The repetition is designed to help meditation and prayer.
Castonguay said Monday that she has received positive feedback from the 40 or so people who casually walked the labyrinth last week. The lay leader at St. Vincent’s said she hopes to create another labyrinth for Lent since the acceptance of the ancient ritual is increasing.
“It’s coming back in the sense that people are discovering more ritualistic prayer experiences that we’ve lost over the years,” she said. “People are searching and they are more open to this than I ever anticipated.”
A Taize service will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 60 Franklin St., Bucksport.
For more information on labyrinths in Maine visit http://www.trinitychurchportland.org/Labyrinth.php.