Light the Candle!

Rituals of Connection

“...the priest was spinning in a circle, clapping his hands in a joyful prayer. 'St. Anthony, St. Anthony, please look around. Something's been lost and cannot be found.'”

Melody Beattie (Journey to the Heart)

Melody Beattie had stopped at a Franciscan monastery in the desert, and misplaced her car keys. She and the receptionist had conducted a thorough search without finding them. Then the priest came in and performed this funny little ritual and voila, they found the keys! Do you have rituals that you perform everyday in exactly the same way? I do. Morning rituals and bedtime rituals are common—grinding the coffee beans, pouring the water, washing your face, applying the cream—we all have little rituals that make the day hang together as it should.

I remember my friend, Sharon, on Friday evenings, lighting the Sabbath candles and saying the Hebrew prayers of blessing. In my own family of origin, we said grace before our meals, 'Heavenly Father, accept our thanks for these and all thy many blessings. Amen.' My clergy-friend, Renae, has just received a doctorate in ritual, and when she was part of my faith community as a young woman, often incorporated ritual into the worship service—I remember washing the feet of a fellow church member, feeding another person communion, anointing another with sweet smelling oil.

Rituals, whether done at a holy site or in our holy home, are designed to help us to see and celebrate the sacred in the ordinary. Giving a homeless person green beans on a paper plate becomes an act of service, lighting a candle while holding an image of someone you care about becomes a prayer for good luck and well being, walking a labyrinth laid out on the ground in a downtown courtyard becomes a holy pilgrimage. Writing down a grievance against someone who has hurt you and then burning it, paves the way for forgiveness and letting go. Rituals remind us that we are spirit connected to Spirit. They link us to the timeless human journey of discovery.

Today, I will light the Virgin of Guadalupe candle for my son, who has a job interview. I will ask her to bless him and his interviewer and to pave the way for him to receive a job offer if it's in his best interest. Rituals, however simple or complex, are potent prayers sent out into the web of life that connects us all. I hope you will take some time for ritual today—some small act that reaches in, and out, and tethers you to divine light.

In the spirit,

Jane