Where Will You Pray?
One
Holy Places
When Moses first met God in the burning bush at Horeb, he was told to remove his shoes because the place where he was standing was holy ground. Now for anything to be holy means it’s set apart, it’s designated as pertaining to God, to the work of God, and to the worship of God. So a place is holy if it has been set apart for God for encounter with God.
Mount Horeb, later called Mount Sinai, was a Holy Place because it was the place where God could be encountered. First by Moses, in that initial experience of the burning bush. And then later by the whole people of Israel, when the Lord came down again in fire on that very mountain, and chose the Israelites as His special possession.
Now we still need holy places. We need places that are designated as the places where we come to meet God. As the Catechism says, the choice of where we’re going to pray matters (#2691).
So what holy places do we have?
Two
Before the Tabernacle – the Holiest of Places
In the Old Testament, the holiest of all places was at the heart of the Temple, before the Tabernacle, where God’s presence dwelt. This place was called, very fittingly, the “Holy of Holies.” So too for God’s people now, in this New Dispensation of Christ.
At the heart of our churches lies the Tabernacle, where God’s presence dwells. Whether it’s sitting before the altar in the main church, or kneeling in the adoration chapel before Christ in the monstrance, when we are praying before Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist, we are in the holy of holies, the most sacred place there is on earth.
So is there an adoration chapel near you? Is there a time when you can enter the Church and pray before the Eucharistic Lord? If so, that is the gold standard of prayerful places. That is the holiest of holy grounds.
And you’d be wise to make the most of it when you can.
Three
A Place of Prayer in the Home
The Catechism also recommends dedicating a small space in your house to be a place of prayer. Eastern Christians and some Western Christians too choose a wall of their house to cover with sacred icons. It’s called an icon corner. Where, throughout the day, or at specific times, you can go look at these holy images and spend time with Christ and Mary and the saints in Heaven.
Many people have a room with a big TV in it, and all the furniture surrounding the TV. What if you found a nice quilt to cover the TV with, and on the wall behind the TV, you put a Crucifix, and a statue of Mary, and some of the saints? That way, the couches are already all set up for the whole family to come together and look on the Lord, and pray.
Of course, if you have a whole room that you can dedicate as a small chapel, that’s best of all, but most of us don’t have that kind of free space available.
So here’s a final suggestion: Wherever you make your prayer space in the home, put a candle by the sacred statues or icons. And when it’s time to pray, whether alone or with the whole family, light the candle. That flame will be like the blaze of the bush at Horeb, and the fire comes down from heaven at Sinai It will be your sign that you are meeting with God. And that, right now, this is a holy place.
Four
Outdoor Grotto
When Our Lady appears to people, whether at Lourdes, Knock, Guadalupe, or Fatima, it’s almost always outside that she does so. Mary seems to like the outdoors. Our Lord did too. Remember how often he would go up to a hill, or to a wilderness, to be alone with God in prayer?
So follow their example. Set up a Mary statue, or a statue of the Sacred Heart, in your backyard, or on your back porch, or somewhere outside. Keep fresh flowers in front of the statue. And in the morning, or the evening, or both, go outside to the stillness of God’s creation, look at the statue, give thanks to God, and express your love for Our Lord and Our Lady. Be quiet out in creation, and be at peace with the Creator. Your yard, or your porch, will become a place of encounter between you and God. It will be a holy place.
Five
Preparing a Place for the Lord
We hear a lot about making time for prayer. And that’s absolutely true. But we’re not just creatures who exist in time. We’re also creatures who exist in space.
It’s not enough to set aside times for prayer. We also have to set aside places for prayer. And that’s not so much to ask, is it? After all, before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His apostles, “I go to prepare a place for you.”
Let’s show Him the same consideration. Let’s prepare a place for Him, in our homes, in our yards, in three-dimensional space. That kind of preparation will make it easier to prepare a place for Him in our souls. And once that happens, we will be ready to come to the glorious place He has prepared for us in His Father’s House.