This December I was given a great gift. It was a spiritual practice offered by a trusted writer of the Contemplative Life, Peter Traben Haas. In his book, Advent Remedy, he offers an invitation to practice a visual divina Vigil during the evenings of the darkest time of year.  Many of us are familiar with lectio divina. In this silent prayer we listen with the ear of the heart to a sacred text and allow it to speak, invite, and pray within us.

In this visua divina we let the vesper light do the same.

This is the invitation:

As you are able,
watch the Light
and let the Light watch you
from sunset
through dusk
to dark.
Be still. Listen. Watch. Wait.

I decided to commit to this practice, as I was able, and in doing so I received a great grace. I began to feel that the sunset, the Light, the earth at dusk, had become my spiritual companion. We had a time set aside to meet every late afternoon. The Light sat with me as I sat with it, quietly present to each other. Each day I noticed the Light was different and the Light could have said the same about me. Sometimes I was in a place that made the practice easy, being on retreat or at the beach or in a chair in my garden. But other times I literally pulled to the side of the road. Sometimes this prayer happened in the parking lot of Ralph’s or Target. I kept vigil.

Peter encourages us to,

“see this practice as a supplement to our other contemplative prayer practice where we set the intention to be still and simply watch the Light with “soft eyes” seeking nothing other than simply being present to the movement of the Light’s fading grace, night by night.”

This December I was intentional about letting the natural world be my prayer partner. I am not sure I was as good a partner in return, but this Light was an awesome companion: faithfully on time, present, welcoming, no matter what condition I was in - stressed, hurried, worried, sometimes peaceful, sometimes joyful.

In addition, it helped me to remember others certainly had read Peter’s book and were “out here” practicing as I was. I shared it with my prayer partners and they picked up the vigil as they were able.

“As we watch the fading Light together, it is possible we create a ‘field of Vigil devotion’.”

In this field of devotion, we can feel and become more aware of the wholeness of our connected community God-lovers in the Advent stillness and silence.” Advent Remedy

I think I was drawn to this Light vigil this year due to my experience of so much darkness all around. I was feeling it getting the best of me. It helped me to sit down with this Gracious Light with intention and feel its steadfastness and patience shinning on me. It was a reminder of the eternal Light that shines in each of us.

The world is in need of the light we carry on the earth. Our spiritual practices are for the world. They help keep the Light burning within. They sync us with the spirit of others so we feel power beyond our own and they help us consent to a power higher than our own.

For when the night becomes dark.

As we enter a new year, let us support one another in our practices that keep our Light shinning in the wildernesses of our time.

Maybe I’ll meet you at the vigil?

Blessings for the Journey,
Elizabeth+