Friars' Day of Recollection for July

Mandalas:

 

Monthly, the friars here at the Prayer Fraternity commit themselves to a Day of Recollection. This is a day set aside to step away from the normal routine of the many details of friar life and ministry, and the friars join together in some sort of 'spiritual day'. This can take a variety of faces from a day of silent prayer with times given to faith sharing the fruits of the day, to guided reflections on any number of topics, to a presentation by an outside speaker, etc. The value of the day is the community's commitment to spending a spiritual day together in a more deeply committed way.

 

The recent July Day of Recollection was given by Br. Joe, one of our community members. With a background in art therapy, he decided to treat us to the experience of working with mandalas as a spiritual reflection tool for our lives.

 

He began the day with some input on 'mandalas as a reflection of the self'. In his remarks he shared that C. G. Jung, the Swiss psychologist, adopted the word, 'mandala', to describe the circle drawings he and his patients did. 'Mandala' means a center, or circumference, or magic circle. Jung associated the mandala with the self, the center of the total personality, and suggested that the mandala shows the natural urge to live out our potential and to fulfill the pattern of our whole personality. This is a natural process that brings to light one's uniqueness and individuality and Jung advocated respectful attention to the symbols of the unconscious as a way to enhance personal growth. Jung saw the spontaneous appearance of mandalas in dreams and imagination and artwork as evidence that individuation is taking place.

 

You can find out more about 'mandalas' by googling the word. Several sample mandalas by the great mystic Hildegard of Bingen are displayed here.)

 

Through the course of the day, the friars created mandalas and then respectfully viewed each others sharing comments and insights gained from the exercise. It was a day of blessing.

 

As a closing thought, a spiritual day, or a day of recollection, is a resource all of us can do well to build into our lives on a regular basis. It is time well spent, whether done as individuals or in community.