Weekly MESSAGE for August 27, 2006: What Makes a Place Holy?

August 24, 2006

Dear Friend,

What makes a place holy? Better yet, where is the holiest place you’ve ever been?

I began to scan my memory bank for the churches, cathedrals, and chapels that I have visited or worshipped in over the recent past and began thinking of St. Peters Basilica in Rome, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the chapel of the Benedictine Monastery in Pecos, New Mexico where I made my retreat this past summer.

Then a very startling surprise came to me. I thought of my centering prayer and reading of the Divine Office this every morning on the side deck. Sitting cross-legged facing the rising sun, with the sounds of katydids, grasshoppers, and crickets waxing and waning as a wildlife chorus. (When I looked up the spelling of “katydid” I learned that the three are related and are called the “Singing Insects of North America.”)

The surprise is that it was none of the places of worship where I felt closest to God, but an experience of early morning prayer with myself before the Divine Presence and communicating through silence and psalm. What I remember, now that the moment has passed, is melting into the morning sun and sounds, being embraced by God and feeling a sense of awe and peace.

What a holy place indeed! And the joy of it all is that it’s there for the taking, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato