This morning’s post in the series Easter is Coming: What Do We Hunger and Thirst For? was written by Paula Mitchell. Paula is a Spiritual Director, retreat facilitator, writer, wife, and mother of four grown sons. She is the founder and program director of Doorways Ministries, providing days of prayer, Ignatian retreats, and a 9 month program based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius as ways of deepening our lives with Christ. She is also the city coordinator for the Ignatian Spirituality Project, a Jesuit organization dedicated to offering spiritual retreats inspired by Ignatian Spirituality to people experiencing homelessness. Paula brings to Doorways her own desire for deeper intimacy with Jesus, a love of prayer, and a heart to share with others the freedom and joy found in following Jesus.
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Thin Spaces
Heaven touches earth
the veil separating God and us
shimmers and for a moment in time-
we find ourselves
standing in God’s presence
holy ground-
Where like Moses we stop, look,
take off our shoes.
God breaks through our hard packed soil,
shattering our well-defended walls
touches our heart with his love and grace
thin space, holy ground.
Jesus, love of God embodied
for thirty-three years
God’s light shining
in the darkness
Chaos—
of our world bringing
Life, Light, Love
Freely giving tender mercy, loving kindness, forgiveness, grace
God who so loves the world
so loves us-
he gave us his only begotten son
whosoever believes in him will not perish
in the deep darkness
but be given life eternal.
The Saints, too, each a thin space unique in their own way
holy ground, fertile soil, pounded thin
by circumstance, pain, suffering
compassion birthed in the soft soil of holy lives given to God.
They prayed that the life of Christ might take root, grow, and produce fruit-
holy ground, fertile ground, given to God
heaven touching earth–thin space
fully alive for the glory of God
Creation, too, a sacrament of God’s presence
where heaven breaks earth open
glimmers of God’s beauty
mountains, oceans, sky,
magnificent, radiant, translucent
reflecting heaven
thin spaces
holy ground
if only we have eyes to see.
Mary, too, a thin space
Where the life of Christ took root and grew.
She, too, holy ground, humble soil, a thin space
Bearing Christ in the rich soil of
humiliation and suffering
yet with great joy and gladness
for unto to us a child is born,
a son given, you shall call his name Jesus.
Not an easy path, full of suffering,
her heart broken by the darkness.
But God promises that the darkness can never, ever extinguish the light
Her yes makes me want to take off my shoes
her life a thin space
holy ground
radiant with his light.
Paul learned
he is made perfect not in his strength
but in his weakness.
Thin enough to be broken
Thin enough for the life of Jesus
to break through
reminding us all
it is no longer we who live but the life we now live is Christ’s own life
mysterious, embodied, thin space
Christ in me the hope of glory
not my glory
His-
What about you?
Do you hunger and thirst for thin spaces?
People who let the light of Christ radiate in them
Light bearers
Christ bearers
Those who carry the death of Christ in their bodies
so they may carry the life of Christ into the world.
Into your world
that you might know his presence in and with you.
Those who bear his wounds, who share his heart,
who bring compassion and peace
To the chaos of our times
To the chaos of our lives
Thin spaces
Holy ground
Sometimes I wonder,
Can I be a thin space?
It’s what I want-
what I hunger and thirst for-
what I’m afraid of-
To become so thin
Radiant
That the life of Christ
shines through me
radiates from me, is embodied in me
whether I know it or not.
So I no longer live but the life I live in my body is the life
of Christ living in me
Thin space
Holy ground
For the light shines in the darkness
And the darkness can never ever put it out…
–Paula Mitchell
2 comments
Wow! Powerful, moving, challenging.
This piece resonates deep with me. Especially:
“Sometimes I wonder,
Can I be a thin space?
It’s what I want-
what I hunger and thirst for-
what I’m afraid of-
To become so thin
Radiant
That the life of Christ
shines through me
radiates from me, is embodied in me
whether I know it or not.”
Yes, I know that fear mixed in with the hunger, for the shekinah glory blazes so bright that I wonder if it will utterly consume me. I shy away, want to hide me eyes. But then peep through my fingers, so drawn.
Thank you for giving this truth such lovely words.
Blessings!