This is a reflection written by Postulant Jayne Erickson while meditating during her retreat “desert day” from Gethsemane Cemetery on our beautiful Monastery grounds.
On a hilltop glider,
a field of lupine at my side,
surrounded by woods in springtime splendor,
the chapel bell tower rises upward.
Taking center stage it calls me to come.
“Come, cry out to God for a world in need.
Call for healing –
Call for peace –
Call for justice and mercy.
Call for comfort –
Call for hope –
Call for abundant life –
Call for LOVE…
of God, of humanity, of the earth and all it holds.”
Beyond the hillside, water meets sky.
Where does one end and the other begin?
And what lies beyond the horizon?
Before me,
a landscape of simple stones marks the lives of beautiful women,
remembered for their deep compassion and active faith.
It is said we are separated by a thin veil.
Yet, it is a powerful truth that together with them,
we are a communion of saints,
a people seeking God,
a community drawn by a chapel bell tower rising upward calling us to come.
“Come, cry out to God!
Join hearts and hands and voices for a world in need.
Call for healing –
Call for peace –
Call for justice and mercy.
Call for comfort –
Call for hope –
Call for abundant life –
Call for LOVE…
of God, of humanity, of the earth and all it holds.
COME…”
