Prayer Labyrinth

The prayer labyrinth at La Providencia in Alpine.



Sheri at the top of the hill...

Sheri picked me up this evening and we wended our way down the hill to La Providencia, a small area waaaaaay out in the back country that is maintained by two Catholic Sisters and owned by the local parish. We first prayed through the stone labyrinth then climbed the path up the hill which was lined with stones and the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The sunset was long and bright tonight due to a fire south of the border in Mexico; the sun shone reddish orange before it sank over the western hills.

La Providencia burned in the devastating Cedar Fire of 2003; of the Stations, only two posts with their copper toolings of each Station survived: numbers 4 and 7 which are both of Jesus falling. Eleven copper Stations were found on the grounds after the fire and were restored on posts, bearing marks of the blaze. Only one copper Station was completely destroyed and was retooled by a local artist. The Stations have become a symbol to those who lost everything in the fire; I noticed a burned piece of wood at the base of the cross at the top of the hill, an offering and a symbol of the 3000 homes lost nearly four years ago. Healing is still in process....

Tomorrow I'll write more about the experience of prayer in the labyrinth on my Meditative Meanderings blog.