The Phoenix Prayer

Total Mileage: 7,333

I have a doodle.  I draw it constantly.  It’s kind of pretty, I guess.  I got the idea in high school, and it’s slowly evolved over the past decade into its current shape.  It’s my favorite animal: the phoenix.  The phoenix is a really significant symbol in many cultures’ mythologies.  The bird has tears that can heal wounds.  Its song can fill the faintest hearts with courage.  And, of course, it’s most famous trait is the ability to die in a burst of flame and then be reborn from its own ashes.  Much like the cross, it is a symbol of resurrection, and it is all over every notebook I own.  Anyone who has sat next to me in a class has probably seen it at some point.  Initially, I drew it because I thought it looked cool.  The geometric patterns drew in my eyes and brought me a sense of peace that I didn’t quite understand for many years.  Filled with groups of threes, fours, sevens, and twelves, the doodle eventually took on quite a bit of number-based symbolic meaning:

Seven points on the head and body (days of creation, sacred number in genealogies)

Sets of three feathers/tail plumes (Holy Trinity, theological virtues, nails in Christ, three days before Christ’s resurrection)

Twelve feathers total (twelve tribes, twelve Minor Prophets, twelve disciples)

Three four-pointed stars (four gospels, four holy creatures, four cardinal virtues)

The four-pointed chest reminds me of the star over Bethlehem, but also of the four points on a traditional cross, and the head above it makes me think of a crown (whether a crown of thorns or a crown of glory and sovereignty).  Though I had initially drawn the wings angled downward, I changed the direction to give the impression that the phoenix was rising up, ascending from its ashes toward the heavens.  Of course, with the bird and fire imagery throughout the doodle, the Holy Spirit is definitely a major theme here as well.

Drawing this symbol has become a spiritual exercise for me.  I can draw it in a few seconds at this point, and whenever I do, I typically pray something along these lines as my pen moves across the page:

Lord, revive me.

In my exhaustion or in my tragedies or in my own shortcomings,

Engulf me in the refining fire,

And bring me back up from the dusts of my former self.

Make of me a new creation.

Put in my mouth a new song.

Help me to inspire others and remind them of your love.

Help me to bring your healing to a suffering world.

Fill me with the peace and joy of being born again through Christ,

Perpetually remade to be more like You,

And seeking to share that joy with a world in need.

Make me a servant.

Help me to rise above the world,

Above unhealthy ambitions and temptations,

And above myself.

It is in Your name I pray.

Amen.

Peace and Blessings,

Tom