Celtic spirituality speaks of "Thin Places," where one senses a thin veil between the material world and the spiritual world. Where Heaven draws closer to Earth, and we feel the nearness of God.
I believe we all live near that Thin Place since we are spiritual beings created to exist in a material world. These are sacred moments when we become keenly aware of God's presence and are filled with overwhelming joy & gratitude. The first one that comes to my mind is seeing a newborn baby. There are countless opportunities to be aware of His presence every day.
Another great example is witnessing someone in the Thin Place between Life and Death who is at peace and ready to return home and be with their Creator God forever. Take a moment to imagine yourself standing at that Thin Place now. See the massive space behind you filled with all your experiences and the broad array of choices you made up to this moment. Before you are the experiences and broad opportunities and choices that are yet to come. We often stand in the Thin Place between choosing God's way and choosing our own, worldly way. How often are we aware of the Thin Place in our day? It's so close, yet it might as well be a million miles away if we choose not to feel it, or if we aren't ready to embrace it.
In the spiritual side of the Thin Place we find true joy and peace. Our hurts, anger, unforgiveness, and self-centeredness will not pass through the Thin Place. We have to let it all go and cover ourselves with the cloak of humility. How often do we get comfortable and complacent with our life and think we are "good enough” and that we have "done enough" so we will be OK. But, that kind of thinking will close us off from the great Grace that lies waiting in the Thin Places. Every encounter we have with others and our every response to circumstances around us requires us to choose who we will be in that moment. How we think and speak and act matters a great deal no matter who we are.
We each have the choice to bring God's peace and hope, or carry gloom and despair.
I've been praying and pondering the Thin Places in our lives. They are all around us in our everyday existence presenting us with Broad Choices.
FAITH ~ Thin Place between the Spiritual and the Material
We must choose to focus on God's view or allow ourselves to see with a worldly view.
HORIZON ~ Thin Place between Soaring and Diving
We must choose to rise above conflict, stress, and dilemmas, or sink into despair.
ESTEEM ~ Thin Place between Gifts and Faults
We must choose to celebrate the goodness, strength, and thoughtfulness in ourselves and others, or chastise ourselves and others for errors, limitations, and weaknesses.
CONFLICT ~ Thin Place between Unity and Discord
We must choose to look for common ground to foster peace and reconciliation, or draw lines of power, judgment, and division.
RELATIONSHIP ~ Thin Place between Patience and Impatience
We must choose to plant seeds of love that may take years to grow, or give up hope and stop trying to effect positive change.
These are challenging Thin Places, no doubt about it. My heart feels trapped in a Thin Place as I sit in my comfortable home watching coverage of the devastation from Hurricane Helene. There are so many heartbreaking stories from this tragic event. I was raised with hurricanes in Southwest Louisiana and I remember Mama filling the bathtub and huge containers so we would have water. We gathered candles and batteries and food as we prepared to hunker down and pray through the storm. As a child, I was unafraid because I felt safe with my parents who remained calm and faithful that God would be with us. Extended family came to shelter in our home and it felt like a joyful space as we gathered together, playing games and storytelling. I was distracted from the great worry and stress.
Hurricane Katrina (2005) was my first challenging storm as a Mama. Although we had moved to Central Mississippi more than 150 miles from the Gulf Coast, we lost power for two weeks. My daughter recently shared her memory of that time as a fun space together, that was unrushed and filled with games just like my childhood memory. We sent supplies to friends who were affected and watched the horrific scenes of some of our favorite places in ruins. Shortly after Katrina, Hurricane Rita hit my family's area of Louisiana and left so many beloved homes, churches, and communities in ruins. Then four years ago, Hurricane Laura destroyed my hometown and left the area in shambles – major landmarks including my Daddy's Barbershop were gone, several of my family's homes and our churches were broken to pieces. Seeing that is heartbreaking. Thanks be to God, my family survived and the area is continuing to rebuild and recover. God is with us in the calm and in the storm, and He is with us as we watch in fear and worry from afar.
Now, Helene unexpectedly tore her path up much of the East Coast. My son's family was affected, but not nearly to the extent of so many neighboring areas. The scenes of the tragic stories being told leave me aching and I find myself at a Thin Place between feeling Blessed and feeling Useless. Those who lost their homes landed in a Thin Place between one day living in Normalcy and then the next surrounded by Devastation. So many lives lost and so many left with nothing. It feels too big to even begin all the work that is needed for healing and recovery, while navigating the Thin Place between Sadness and Hope. The key is how we all respond.
I saw more than one interview with who has lost everything but their lives. Somehow they were very hopeful and encouraging. They expressed immense gratitude for the neighbors, utility workers, and rescue teams. They issued an intense plea to everyone to help by praying and praying some more. They feel the healing effects of being lifted to God. People are usually great at diving in with unabashed kindness and empathy during these dramatic events in our world. How can we do better, seeing and responding to others with the same tenderness and loving care on a daily basis?

We sit at a Thin Place between Fear and Generosity, between Hope and Despair facing Broad Choices for how we will respond. We are afraid and want to hold onto our money and resources in case we are hit by disaster. Trouble and tragedy seems to be escalating around the world.
Questions gnaw at us:
Why do such terrible things happen?
What will happen next?
How can we stop it from happening again?
I know this to be true:
We are called to help others in need. Jesus taught us to pray and ask God to give us our daily bread. Sometimes, daily bread is found in our sharing and helping one another. We have to give from our reserves and trust that the Lord will provide help when we are in need.
The Gospel Readings this week show clear examples of how we are to respond when we stand at the Thin Place. The disciples wanted to retaliate when people offended them. They wanted to be recognized as the greatest followers of Jesus and be rewarded for their good works. Jesus continually speaks to them and us about bringing peace wherever we go. He shows us how to be humble and trusting like young children who act with love and run to help without thought of what others might think. They respond with joy, not jealousy, when others do well. Small children are peacemakers by nature.
Read these words of Jesus in some of the Readings this week and see how appropriate they are to guide us in the Thin Places. Jesus will always show us how we are called to respond. Ask Him every day to lead the way.
"Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, will by no means lose their reward." (Mk 9:41)
"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever welcomes one child such as this in my name welcomes me." (Mk 18:3-5)
"Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you." (Lk 10:5-6)
I never thought about the "thin place", it is something to consider.
Thanks Monica,
still a fan.