Labyrinths? Taize?

[Rebecca_Fleming]

There are alot of conflicting opinions about these even among good, solid catholics. Do any of you know what the church’s standing TRULY is on them? I’m not looking just for opinions this time. Is there anything in the catechism about this stuff?

 

[LilyM]

No, there’s nothing in the Catechism about labyrinths or Taize. Nor any other official document that I am aware of.

But I do know that labyrinths as aids to prayer existed in medieval Cathedrals in Europe, the most well-known being the one in the Cathedral of Chartres in France, so they’re not a new-fangled idea or anything.

Can’t comment on Taize much - from what I understand it’s simply prayer set to music. I don’t think there’s anything wrong, in fact there’s much to be commended, about the idea of using music as an aid to prayer, provided there’s nothing unorthodox about the lyrics or style of music or anything.

 

[thistle]

There are alot of conflicting opinions about these even among good, solid catholics. Do any of you know what the church’s standing TRULY is on them? I’m not looking just for opinions this time. Is there anything in the catechism about this stuff?

From Catholic Answers:

Q: Should Christians build prayer labyrinths? My child’s Catholic high school is considering building one.

A: In Christian spirituality, labyrinths originally symbolized the winding streets of Jerusalem, and walking in a labyrinth while praying Christian prayers was a form of virtual pilgrimage for medieval Christians who could not afford the expense and risk of an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. If the prayers said in a labyrinth are representative of authentic Christian spirituality and the purpose of the labyrinth is explained to those who will be using it, then the proposed labyrinth would not pose a problem. If, on the other hand, the prayers are representative of a non-Christian or an otherwise questionable spirituality, Catholics should not pray them and a Catholic high school should not promote it to its students.

 

[MikeDunphy]

But I do know that labyrinths as aids to prayer existed in medieval Cathedrals in Europe, the most well-known being the one in the Cathedral of Chartres in France, so they’re not a new-fangled idea or anything.

Do you know of any prayers or devotions from the time? The little bit of “labyrinth spirituality” I’ve encountered seemed vacuous, flaky and new-agey. But I imagine very moving meditations could be written on the theme of the soul’s journey to God.

 

[GeorgeSword]

Do you know of any prayers or devotions from the time? The little bit of “labyrinth spirituality” I’ve encountered seemed vacuous, flaky and new-agey. But I imagine very moving meditations could be written on the theme of the soul’s journey to God.

I’ve always found labyrinths a rather interesting form of spirituality. I agree with you, though, Mike, that a lot of them today are definitely ‘new agey’. But I think we could and should reclaim this devotion. I don’t think it has to have special prayers - certainly they could be helpful, but I find the idea of following the paths while praying the Rosary, or just talking to God, to be very attractive. Regardless of the original purpose, I can’t help but see a bit of symbolism myself, that in following the winding paths we are meant to think of it as following God’s path, towards the centre which is salvation. In other words, I tend to think of the journey as representative of what our life should be, and that it should call us to try to lead our lives this way. But, I’m rambling I think.

 

[Holly3278]

I don’t know how much help this will be but here is a link I found about labyrinths.

newadvent.org/cathen/08728b.htm