Gretchen Kehan: My Soul Adventures transformation in France.
We almost didn’t go. It was late. We were a little hungry. And the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene was supposed to be closed. But something pulled us there. We all felt called to make the drive through the sweeping valleys filled with flowers and the rolling hills of the Languedoc Region to this 8th century village that is known for their mysterious Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Rennes-le-Château.
As we walked through the ancient village and towards the church I felt like I was transported to a different time where the Knights Templar roamed the countryside and protected this ancient place. A hush fell silently among us as we neared the Church, which was awaiting us with open arms, unexpectedly open past her close date. The curator had decided to leave her open on a hunch. Of course she was open. She had been calling to us.
As I walked under the front entrance with an image of Mary Magdalene welcoming us with the Latin inscription, Terribilis est locus iste, “This is a place of Awe,” I felt my Soul exhale and return to me. I felt myself connect to a place inside of me that I had forgotten existed.
Entering the small, intimate church and stepping into the aisle of pews I was immediately reminded of a dream I dreamt over 17 years ago, a dream where Jesus had butterflies in his beard and I was sitting right here in this pew in this small church. In this moment of deep remembrance, when you recognize a truth and literally feel alignment tingling within all the cells of your body, I felt home.
Tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes.
I never knew exactly what called me to the South of France on this Soul Adventure, but this magical moment on our journey felt like a lockbox opening up within my heart and reminding me of a lost memory, a lost seed of understanding, a lost sense of myself.
I walked closer to the altar where a stunningly beautiful image of Mary Magdalene kneeling in reflection surrounded by nature captured my attention.
There was nothing to do but sit there and soak it all in. The beauty, the magic, the very essence of this church.
What struck me as I looked around was the acknowledgement and energy of the feminine. In this church there dwells an air of mystery and truth and you can see and feel Her.
Her pain.
Her suffering.
Her deep understanding.
Her devotion.
Her loss.
Her healing.
Her commitment.
Her dedication.
Her journey.
Her courage.
Her love.
Her compassion.
Her strength.
Her spirit.
On the walls are the pictures of the familiar biblical scenes but there is a light of the divine feminine permeating throughout the church. The delicate and gorgeous patterns and pastel colors on the ceiling are just one example.
Signs and hidden symbols are also everywhere you look though they are easy to miss. It is as if the truth has been here all along, hidden in plain sight, just waiting for us to see with awakened hearts. After we exited the church, something else magical happened. We ran into a wise man standing outside the chapel who said to us, unprompted: “The mystery is in front of our eyes. It is only for the ones who are close enough to see what is beyond.”
When we are ready, the truth appears. But you must experience it for yourself and be fiercely curious and open to your own experiences. For every journey and chapter in life has the ability to open a portal of the divine within… if we allow it. Therein lies the challenge and the opportunity. Soul Adventures is one such portal.
As I sat on the wooden pew bathed in the blue cloak of Her sacred space I was reminded of Mary Magdalene’s commitment to the guiding wisdom and truth of her own story, her own soul adventure. For despite the anger she might have felt and the deep grief and pain of losing her beloved, she continued on her journey with a forgiving heart and claimed her sovereignty as the “Apostle to the Apostles,” for she was considered the one true teacher to continue the work and message of Jesus.
She could have retreated and easily have stopped her work. But she listened to her Soul, she followed her calling across the Sea and into a foreign land where she continued to teach the message of love, spread their movement and serve as wise counsel. For those willing to follow their calling, experience their own transformation and emerge with compassion, love and commitment to service in their heart, she is always near.
“Be still, my daughter, knowing you are home. In love.
Open heart, open arms, Always Love.”
I walked out of Rennes-le-Château a different woman than the one that entered and continue to seek the “places of awe” that capture my Soul’s attention and lead me home to Love, always Love.
Gretchen Kehan