I returned from our pilgrimage to sites sacred to
Mary, saints, gods and goddesses and archangels.
We visited ancient ruins of temples, gothic
cathedrals, churches,
sacred gardens, monuments, convents and
other holy places.
We stood in awe in places still alive with the Holy Presence
of those who have understood the greatest
Truth.
The Truth that the Kingdom of God
is yes, in us, but also that the
Kingdom of God IS us.
The Truth that human heart is the
Sacred Temple and that the holy war
between two opposing sides
are raging within the human heart.
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| St John the Divine Cathedral, Montmartre, Paris |
The trip was incredibly intense. Every day we had
to face challenges and obstacles.
Plans had to change at the last minute;
misfortune happened;
things did not work out as planned.
Each day offered each one of us many
opportunities to witness ourselves and our own
reactions and our own responses to these
challenges. Years ago, when I first started
undertaking sacred pilgrimages, a wise woman told
me that one is always tested to the extreme when
you set foot on the pilgrim’s path.
Full Moon 7/8 September – Nativity Feast of Mary
On the other side of the coin, of course,
we do live in a world of opposites after all,
we had incredible, breathtaking awesome moments
every single day.
Unexpected beauty such as the full moon behind
the Notre Dame with the full set of bells pealing
for the Nativity of Mary!
This full moon was still hanging blushing pink and gold
in Lourdes and followed the procession
and at one point she was directly above both the
statue of Our Lady of Lourdes as well
as the Lady being carried in procession.
I had the opportunity of visiting St Teresa d’Lisieux’s
garden and her sacred relics and we offered
roses to her image in her rose garden
At both Lourdes and Lisieux the sacred fragrance
were so thick and intense that it seemed virtually
tangible : a mix of honey and rose.
And it was not the flowers!
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| A street shrine of the Blessed Mother in Rome |
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| The statue of the Vestal Virgin, Claudia, in the ancient city of Rome |
We visited many sacred sites in Paris;
travelled to Lisieux and Chartres;
spent nights in Lourdes and Assisi
and visited many sacred and historic
sites in Rome and travelled to Napoli.
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| Statue of Isis in Pompeii museum in Naples, Italy |
If you are interested in reading about my
experiences and insights during this trip, you
can follow my blog posts at
www.path-of-divine-love.com.
I have also started blogging the
Tarot Deck of the Mysteries of Mary at
www.hergracesacredart.com.
After this pilgrimage, the entire deck has
morphed into something far deeper
and more intense that when I started off.
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| St Teresa Basilica Family Crypt in Lisieux |
This pilgrimage took place exactly 13 years, also in
September, to my first pilgrimage.
Many of the places in Rome and Assisi I had visited 13 years
ago and the change in my perception and understanding
which I faced in the mirror of my consciousness
reflected back at me from the physical world,
was a rebirthing experience.
Yet again, I realised, that our ideas and thoughts
and the waves in our consciousness die and
are reborn infinitely.
Each day I felt more and more humbled by the
understanding that dawned on me.
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| A street shrine in Paris |
Once again, I realised that it is not our own doing,
yet, we have to continue to do.
It is as though we have to dig the foundations and
gather the bricks and mortar and create
the inner garden, in the faith and trust that the Beloved
will appear and fill that garden with the most
exotic blooms and fragrances, with orchards
of fruit trees and rich harvests.
At times I felt as though I was being taken apart
and NOT being put together again; I had
vivid dreams every night and the image
of a broken doll was very vivid.
Yet, the doll continues to dance through life
as she does not do so by her own volition
but by the Hand of God.
I once again witnessed how easily the spiritual path
is turned into one of sentimentality and superstition.
A true spiritual path is truly a religion of the soul.
It has underpinnings of discipline and commitment;
it is carried by humility and the ability to
surrender to the Will of God.
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| Street shrine in Rome |
I would say our biggest obstacle and challenge
is to become aware of our own understanding
and view of ourself and the world, as it is
this psychological view that we mainly project
onto the Divine : whether it is that we get
distracted by the politics of the age, the gender
of the divine or equality issues. A simple place to
start would be ‘Know Thyself’. In other words,
get to know your personality, your likes and
dislikes, your personal beliefs, your conditioning
and most of all, your 12 personality archetypes.
Get to know their positives and negatives and
then surrender both to the Self to be
transformed into the Living Fire.
Our minds (that is, our personality)
creates the veil which covers the
inner sanctum of the Heart.
This veil is also called the Veil of the Mother,
or the Sacred Garment or Maya
and it has a dual role.
Much like the double sided head of Janus,
the veil keeps us out of the Inner Temple where
Wisdom resides, but it also encourages and aids
us to find our way into the Temple.
Try to work that paradox out rationally and logically.
I changed the Temple of Mary to
the Temple of the Mysteries of Mary
as I realised, in humility, Mary is so much
more than a modern goddess.
That the Theotokos (the Mother of God) is an integral
part of the miraculous love of God’s Kingdom
and that she is so much more than psychological
feminine face of God.
I read the word God as ‘It’ and not as “He’ or
‘She’.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 1:1-13, we have the description of the incarnation of the Word.
In the original text of this chapter, in the Greek,
there is no masculine pronoun “He” in several passages, as the English versions suggest.
It’s actually written in the early Greek as “this one,” not “He.”
Here is the text with these adjustments:
1 In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God,
and the Logos was God.
2 This one was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through this one; and without this one was not made
anything that has been made.
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| The Temple of Vesta in ancient Rome |
Through the arc of time, there has always
been the mystical understanding that
we embody cosmic transformation.
The understanding is also that this transformation
entails giving in, giving up, surrendering and
ultimately death. The cosmic battle between
dark and light is taking place within ourselves
and our understanding and if we are to hide
in sentiment and ‘light and love’ niceties
we will always be held in the hands
of our biological fate.
Each of us is part of the Kingdom of God
and we are constantly participating in the
play between mind and heart, self and Soul.
In response we are asked to notice,
to become aware,
to appreciate the mystery,
to consciously participate in it,
and to be grateful.
