By Sr. Colleen Gibson, SSJ
This prayer, along with other Ignatian prayers, poems, reflections and art, first appeared in our free e-book, “Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: Through the Year with Ignatian Spirituality.” Sign up to receive it at jesuits.org/ebook.
They set out without knowing
where the tides of faith would take them
a people choosing to be chosen
as they crossed the parted sea
They pursued the One who called them
Into a desert parched with promise
Each step a move toward freedom
A spark of hope amid the darkness
So, too, the Chosen One got started
Heading out into the desert
To deepen and discover
That which only he could find
Now ours becomes the journey
to choose the path of freedom
to take the steps most needed
to draw ourselves to Love
It is the walking that will make us
the journey that creates us
Finding us at times with purpose
and at others wandering aimless
We search and choose repentance
Renewal and dependence
A call of reconciliation,
with our neighbors, self, and God
With this trinity we travel
United as companions
each step a grounding moment
in the mystery of grace
Forty chances lie before us
To enter into the wild
To find the boundaries of our being
And walk humbly with our God
Stripped bare by choice or circumstance
The Spirit will sustain us.
The Way we walk is one with us
on our Resurrection journey.
Sr. Colleen Gibson, SSJ, is a Sister of Saint Joseph, currently pursuing a Master of Theological Studies degree at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.