I recently have been listening to and singing along with a fabulous new chant , “Oh Love,” by Alexandra Blakeley. Her message of opening to the Beloved reminds me of the words to a chant I learned during my spiritual direction training that illuminate some of the most powerful aspects of accompanying others on their spiritual journeys.
“Sacred is the call;
awesome indeed the entrustment.
Tending the holy, tending the holy”
Sacred: cherished, divine.
The call: an internal stirring that speaks to our deepest longing and guides our life journeys.
Awe: a palpable sense of wonder and amazement, often felt in the body.
Entrustment: mutual relational trust between seeker and guide.
Tending: Mindful presence, awareness and attentiveness to the movement and growth in the other.
Holy: hallowed, revered, faithful.
I can still hear the lilting melody of this chant, and it transports me back to those early years of my training that felt so fresh, alive and new.
There is still something refreshing, enlivening and renewing about the daily practice of opening to the Mystery. I recommit to welcoming the other as created in the Divine Image, which is a daunting task In this global season of unrestrained brutality and systems breakdown.
I reaffirm my YES to this call as a path of healing, justice and wholeness.