I found myself thinking about places where I had important (for me) spiritual insights. In order of time:
10. Little Flower Church, Belfast, N. Ireland. Designed by my grandfather, it was from this church that I buried my father and mother. I love its small scale and simplicity. I always found it easy to pray there.
9. Malin Head, Co. Donegal. The most northerly tip of Ireland is wild and gorgeous. At Banbas Crown, after a vigorous dialogue with God, I chose to apply to the Jesuits.
8. Chapel in Manresa House, Dublin. The chapel is oval and simple and quiet and prayerful. I pronounced my vows as a Jesuit there.
7. Notre Dame de Paris. A huge bustling cathedral in a major European capital. Full of tourists year round, I still found it a serene and sacred space. I loved going to Mass there.
6. The Great Outdoor Buddha, Kamakura, Japan. Another tourist trap, but once I was there all alone on a cold February morning when it started to snow gently. I was transfixed with gratitude to God.
5. Niccoline Chapel, Vatican. I was wondering around the Vatican Museum and I came across this chapel with fresco paintings by Fra Angelico. I was stunned – almost to the point of breathlessness – by its beauty. Unforgettable.
4. Carmelite Monastery, Yamaguchi, Japan. Shortly after ordination, for several months I was the chaplain to the Carmel in southern Japan. The sisters were utterly luminous and I basked in their holiness.
3. St Mary’s Church, Baldwinsville, NY. I helped out at this parish for several years when I lived in Syracuse and came to deeply love the parish community. I still miss being there.
2. Villa Le Moyne, Cazenovia, NY. Someone gave the Jesuits a beautiful old house by a lake in upstate New York. I used to go there all the time and sit looking at the lake. It is a place of profound peace and solace.
1. Montserrat Benedictine Abbey, Spain. Set on a stunning mountain range, the monastery church is busy by day but quiet and consoling when evening falls. I have been there four times and can’t wait to go again.
So, what are your favorite spiritual hotspots?
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
I might make another comment later, but just wanted to say now that I have been to the abbey at Montserrat. But it was the hills above the abbey that were a spiritual place for me. Those conical hilltops were truly amazing, and I loved wandering and climbing amongst them.
Montserrat – a place that changed my life.
Someday…
Me too!!
Margaret,
For me, Montserrat is a complete package. The monastery is amazing but I agree with you that the nature around is amazing.
Paul
When I undertook the 30 week Ignatian Exercises I found that the place that I felt the presence of God was in the Australian bush; the awe of His Creation around me; the sounds and smells and the beautiful vista.
Praise God
John,
How I envy you!!! A great place to praise God!!
John,
I would love to have the chance to experience God in the Australian bush. Please God… some day.
Paul
Paul, thank you for this beautiful opportunity to reflect with gratitude on the grace of God in my life. There have been many places where I have had spiritual insights over the years but the ones that come to mind now are:
5. Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Toronto where I began attending the Roman Catholic Church in March 2002 and where I felt the call of God to embrace the Roman Catholic expression of the Christian faith.
4. St. Patrick’s Parish in Markham, Ontario where I was received into full communion in the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2004 and where I still attend.
3. My own home which I consider a gift from God and where God & I converse daily and I’m privileged to hold a weekly Bible Study & welcome so many of God’s people.
2. The chapel at Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Retreat Centre near Toronto where I have spent a great deal of time over the last 35 years and where I’m sure many spiritual seeds have been planted and nurtured.
1. The chapel at Regis College in Toronto, Ontario where I attend classes and have the privilege of attending Mass during the day. God is so close there.
Next time, when it’s warm, you’re going to have to provide a tour!
For sure. It will be my privilege to share these places with you.
Lynda, I love that your home makes your list! Visiting places of spiritual significance is wonderful, but when home is a “spiritual hotspot” too, that’s something to treasure.
Lynda,
What a lovely list. I would expect nothing else from you, of course.
Paul
First that comes to my mind is the Palenque Ruins in Chiapas. To stand on the ruins of an ancient civilization and look out over the jungle below is a humbling experience, yet at the same time, spiritually awakening. To know that I was standing atop the remains of what was once a mighty empire caused me to reflect on what a very small part I play in the grand design. What a stark reminder of how fleeting empires are.
Next is a place closer to home called Bald Rock. A short hike through the forest opens out onto this enormous granite outcropping. When you climb to the top you can see the whole valley below, the lake and theriver appear so small. Worn into the stone are bowl shaped
indentations, placed there by the Maidu Women as they ground
(continued) as they ground acorns into meal for cakes to feed their families. I feel such an affinity with those women who spent their days gathering acorns and carrying them to the top of that granite rock to grind and grind for generations. How many generations it must have been to wear down that granite!
Lastly, I have a secret place, a short drive up into the Feather River Canyon is a turn off where I can park, climb down an embankment and wade out through the water to these smooth, white rocks and just sit. The river provides the music, the rocks are warm, the sun is shining and my feet are cooled by dangling them in the river current. The sky is bright, summer blue and the air is pungent with the scent of pine and sage. Occasionally I ‘m gifted with a trout splashing or an osprey or red tailed hawk overhead. If a body can’t find God in that place, they ain’t ever gonna find Him /Her in a church!
Emma,
They sound like amazing places. I hope someday that you can show me at least one of them.
Paul
I’m done school in March, official ceremony in June. Just going to be hangin’ out here ……
I felt at peace just reading about these places and everyone’s reflections on them. For me it’s a monastery as well. St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer MA. I began visiting it back in college and it has remained a very special place since there. I also am grateful for the spiritual insights that I receive in empty churches. Oh I love it when the church is filled with prayer and music, but I feel such a connection to God in an empty church. The silence and peace afford me some quiet time to sit and listen to God speak to my heart.
Andie,
Thanks for mentioning St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer. I went there for retreat many times. What a beautiful, serene place.
Also, St. Peter’s in the Vatican. The first time I went there I just felt like I was “home”
Andie,
Ooh! I love empty churches. Thank you for pointing it out to us.
Paul
“after a vigorous dialogue with God” Haha. Love it. I have had a few of those lately although I seem to be shouting at the wind.
I’m with Emma. Most of the places I witness God are in the beautiful spaces that He has created rather than those that man has put up as a witness to Him. Sitting at the bank of Lake Zurich at Zurichhorn, looking south over the water towards the snow capped mountains is where I manage to have a reasonable chat.
There is one church where I have managed to feel close. St Mary’s Moorfield in the City of London. In fact the only catholic church in the City and if you didn’t know it was there you would probably walk past it, so humble is its entrance. A haven in the belly of Mammon.
Simon,
“A haven in the belly of Mammon”? Wow. You got some strong feelings there!
Paul
Haha! I said that with my tongue stuck firmly in my cheek. I am in the Andy Haldane school with respect to the failings of the finance community but I am also of the view that it is a necessary “evil”. Properly regulated it is a force for good. Obviously, it hasn’t been properly regulated because politicians curry favour with them looking for financial and other support.
I have had the most fortunate opportunities to travel not only through the contiguous 48 states but outside the U.S. as well. There have been so many ah-ah moments that we have had the opportunity to experience, but these come to mind first, listed in the order of experience:
1. St. Raphael School, Bay Village, OH – Where I first encountered the Spirit, through a remarkable teacher.
2. Huntington Beach, Bay Village, OH – Incredible view of downtown Cleveland from the shores of Lake Erie
3. Our backyard, Rocky River, OH – we are very fortunate to have a beautiful yard which allows us to take in God’s creation.
4. Na Pali Coast – Kauai, HI – This fifteen-mile stretch of rugged coastline on the northwest shore of Kauai literally means “the Cliffs.” These cliffs cascade down into the deep blue pacific like the fingers of God.
5. Denali National Park & Preserve – Home of the largest mountain in the western hemisphere, a plethora of solitude, tranquility and wilderness.
6. Big Sur Coast, Monterey, CA – remarkable & spectacular views.
7. Bunbeg, Co. Donegal– In the NW section of Ireland, as Paul stated, wild and gorgeous.
8. Sistine Chapel, Vatican – To be able to stand in awe, allowing our memory to think of all that took place in this room over the centuries.
9. The Great Wall, Beijing, China – The name says it all.
10. San Juan, PR – Sitting on a beach on an early morning watching the sunrise, another encounter with the Spirit.
Such amazing experiences of natural beauty!
Big Sur and the Sistine Chapel are both on my list!
Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur must be God’s home, He made it so spectacular. You can see Him and hear Him in every wave, bird cry; you can feel Him in every breeze.
Tim,
You have had so much more opportunity to travel than most of us. I’d love to experience a spiritual insight in Hawaii, for instance.
My one disagreement with you is about the Sistine Chapel. My experience is of an overly-hot, overly crowded space with security people (the Swiss Guard) yelling “Silencio” every 30 seconds. No chance of a spiritual insight for me there, I’m afraid.
Paul
We miss you at St. Mary’s too. Those were some good years with you and Fr. Kopp. Two special places for me in Syracuse are Christ the King Retreat House (which, I believe, used to belong to the Jesuits) and Stella Maris Retreat House which is in Skaneateles, NY and also by a lake.
Cazenovia! Skaneatles! Such gorgeous places!
Bob, Penny & Fran,
We love Central New York, don’t we?
Paul
Fabulous post, Paul. It is going to take me a while to revisit my life and look at those places spiritually significant.
I’ll give one example and stop there…
When I was a little girl, 4 or 5, I was not very nice. I am not sure exactly what it was about. Maybe I was not nice with my younger brother (3 years younger). Anyway, my parents (not sure if one felt it more strongly than the other) decided that I would follow catechism classes with our parish priest (a tall-tall-tall man all dressed in black and towering over me) and then I would do my first communion. Which I did. All by myself one Sunday mass. I was still small because I can remember seeing legs rather than full bodies. Then came the time to go for communion, and all those legs let me go by, like a parting of the Red Sea, and I went forward toward the railing to receive the Eucharist. My memory of this day is a golden light all over the altar, a golden light which absorbed me.
I don’t believe I became a nicer little girl afterwards. But this is the first spiritually significant spot I can remember
Claire,
What a strong and singular spiritual reminiscence! I am impressed.
Paul
Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi…beautiful yet simple and peaceful. Love the grounds around it.
Cathedral in Cologne, Germany…majestic and glorious, especially being there as a high school sophomore
Chapel at College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN and St. John’s Abbey Church in Collegeville, MN…favorite spots to find some peace during my college days
Mt. Sinai…amazing journey on this mountain
St. Peter’s/Vatican…amazing to think of all that has taken place there
Kim,
I had forgotten about Assisi. How come?
Paul
What a great way to begin a day so cold that I’m not sure I’ll ever emerge from the blanket in which I’m cocooned! In reverse order:
10. The twelve acres in southern OH on which I grew up, where the fields and woods and creeks reverberated with the beauty of creation.
9. The chapel of the Ursuline boarding school where I spent my junior high years, in which I had a very distinct experience of God when I was about twelve.
8. A hillside on the campus of the boarding school in western MA where I went to high school and had a very distinct experience of absent God one night when I was seventeen.
7. A mountain pass in Glacier National Park, where I became convinced that there is indeed a God, due to the sight that lay before me on a backpacking trip about ten years later.
6. The outdoor amphitheater at the Chautauqua Institution in western NY, where the sound of 5,000 voices singing Holy, Holy, Holy as happens at the beginning of worship every summer Sunday is always a profound experience of community.
5. A couple of places at Shaker Lakes and in Lakeview Cemetery (also beside a lake; well, ok, a pond), both in Cleveland OH, where I used to sit when I was making the Exercises.
4. My own dining room, actually, late at night during the same period of time.
3. The Chapel of the Martyrs in Paris, where the first Jesuits made their first vows together, and where I spent part of an afternoon at the end of the Exercises to make the commitment that would see me through the past several years: http://www.searchthesea.blogspot.com/2006/07/serendipity-paris-first-entry-of-six.html.
2. Wernersville Jesuit Center in eastern PA — the roads and pathways and hillsides, the Chapel http://www.metanoia-mrc.blogspot.com/2012/01/ever-considered-silent-retreat.html , and one small office on the third floor — all places of significant spiritual moments in my life. (Sorry, but I love looking at pictures of some of “my” places.
1. In general: St. Augustine Beach FL, which I am sure is the home of God at sunrise. I’ll spare you the dozens of pictures!
I have always wanted to go to Chautauqua!
Robin,
How astute of you to mention an experience of the absence of God. Makes me think…
Paul
My specialty . . .
Paul, I love the images of the Little Flower Church.
Robin,
Thank you. It was just about the only lovely church my grandfather designed. Most of the others are, frankly, revolting!
Paul
What a thought provoking post. I don’t go far any more, but for so many years, I would meet and re-meet God in my travels. With that in mind….
1. Santa Fe, NM – I love the entire area, so will bundle it under the heading of the town. The mountains, the Cathedral, the little spiral staircase of Loretto Chapel, the smell of pinon smoke in the autumn, or the remarkable color of the sky at dusk. The spirit is so alive for me there.
2. Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii – Tim mentioned Na’ Pali, which is gorgeous. My own little favorite corner of Kauai is another place where I have been changed by God. On my first visit there, a hippie type woman came up to me without provocation and said that “Mother Spirit” would “break my heart and fix it in this spot.” It freaked me out at the time, but it turned out to be more true than I would ever guess.
3. Jerusalem – there are so few words, my heart is there.
4. Petra, Jordan. I longed to visit this place and when I arrived I was told that we would go in the morning, as it was late afternoon. Then I was told to prepare for an evening visit. We were met at the entrance by a guide who admonished us to walk single file and in complete silence. The entire Siq (passageway) was dark. We arrived at the portal to the Treasury and it was ablaze with luminarias, hundreds and hundreds of them. Astounding.
5. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Glenville, NY. I work here. To walk over to church is such a gift. Some days I go in during the winter, with the afternoon sun slanting rays, and sending color from the windows over the floor in a beautiful pattern. If there was a funeral, the scent of the incense hangs in the air. It is so peaceful and gorgeous, so restful and deep.
6. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles. It is hard to add this one today, but add it I will. A remarkable spot. Upon entering the first time, I wept. I have been there so many times, yet I still shed a tear or two.
7. My mother’s grave, Gate of Heaven cemetery, Valhalla, NY. On a peaceful hillside, with trees up higher, and a view of the large cemetery below. I miss being able to go there, now that I don’t live in the area any longer.
8. The Monastery of Our Lady of Grace, N. Guilford, CT. A gorgeous spot, filled with peace.
9. Paul’s mention of the Buddha brought to mind the peace and beauty of Ngong Ping and the giant Buddha statue on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. I was there in 1989 and 1993; now that the airport is on that island, I have to wonder if it is still as peaceful?
10. Montserrat – also mentioned by Paul. A place that changed my life in more ways than I could possibly ever imagine. So much so that I can’t even begin to explain it all!
There are SO MANY MORE PLACES! And I am so grateful for my own, but also to read the other comments. Thank you Paul and fellow PFO people!
Fran,
Your mother’s grave. How incredibly moving…
Paul
The sea..by the beautiful sea…I always seem to find Him there.
Thanks for the prompt to remember these spiritual “hotspots” especially…
Blacksod Bay, Co. Mayo Ireland and
Stella Maris Retreat House, Elberon, New Jersey…..what a gift to view the broad Atlantic from my ancestral homeland and my present homeland, and to have His company…anywhere!
Maureen,
I am ashamed to tell you that I haven’t even heard of Blacksod Bay.
Paul
I have some Burke ancestors from places unknown in Co Mayo- they left at the time of the famine. Blacksod Bay sounds so very evocative, I might claim it for them!
Spain, as a whole, was spiritually significant for me. I’d have to think more to narrow down my list, because I’ve been fortunate to be in many “spiritual hotspots.” Thank you for this post, Paul!
Denise,
A whole country that’s spiritually significant for you! My word.
Paul
I would agree – Espana!
The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, and, while not exactly a single place, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain
Joe,
I am jealous that you have had the occasion to experience both of those hotspots.
Paul
I consider myself truly blessed. Saw the Wall in the late 1960′s and walked part of the Camino last year.
Joe- I also walked some of the Camino last year- late May into June. Our steps trod some of the same paths, along with the pilgrim throng from years gone by.
1) Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. It is simply the most beautiful building I have ever been in. I was a teenager when I first saw its stained glass walls, and it was the first time I remembering experiencing awe at beauty.
The next time I went, I dragged two complaining little girls up the spiral staircase, who were (justifiably?
) complaining that Mom was making them visit *another* church. (Explaining it wasn’t really a church anymore didn’t help, oddly enough.)
When they reached the top — I got to watch them live the same experience I had 20 years earlier. I felt so privileged to see their delight.
I am profoundly grateful to God for both moments.
2) The small chapel in my freshman dorm, St Mary’s. In what has since become office space
, I first served as a Eucharistic minister. It was also the place where my friends and I gathered for Mass most weeknights during my Junior and Senior year, around 11:00 pm, with an incredible Jesuit priest with a beautiful voice and an incomparable gift for ministering to college students. That chapel was the first place I had an experience of being part of a small community of faith. Not all of my friends from those days still gather around an altar, but we are all still friends — and a couple of us are old married couples, too.
I love love love Sainte-Chapelle. We heard a Vivaldi concert there one evening — it was incredibly hot and everyone was miserable, and yet: perfection!
Denise,
I understand your love for the Sainte Chapelle but it has always been a tourist destination for me rather than a spiritual one.
Paul
I felt that way about Ste. Chapelle until I went to hear a concert there one night. It was about 9pm, in late Juen, so the sun was still setting. As it blazed through windows that it would not have blazed through during my daytime visits, along with the music, it was transforming.
1. The adoration chapel at Lumen Christi Church in St. Paul, MN. In 2007, I had been praying to God, off and on, for years, never convinced there was actually anyone listening. Lumen Christi is where I first heard God talk back.
2. The adoration chapel at St. Mark’s Church in St. Paul. I have been going there every morning, during my bus layover, to read the Catechism.
3. St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral, Billings, MT. It’s the church I grew up in. In my mind, it’s the perfect church, and every other church’s architecture is deficient to the extent that it deviates from that of St. Patrick’s. (Though Little Flower Church looks quite beautiful, I have to admit.)
4. A certain lake in a certain mountain range in Montana. The perfect mountain lake, far enough up the trail not to be spoiled by too many people appreciating it, and I don’t want to promote it by giving any details.
5. Como Park Conservatory, St. Paul, MN. My son Robbie is just so happy whenever he’s there!
Jim,
I don’t know a single one of the places you have listed, but I would love to see them (with you.)
Paul
I believe that we have all just travelled the world today
Paul, this has been wonderful.
I second what Emma said about travelling the world today.
I realize I haven’t been to any of these places.
There are a few places I have been-
Madonna House in Combermere Ont. My daughter and I have been on family retreats. I always felt that if I could I would loved to have pitched my tent there. Jean Fox who was the director at those times in my life would look at me and say Courage.
St Gerard’s Parish-I was 22 when I went back to Church.
I still remember opening the door to this small church and as I walked in I felt I was home. Very profound.
My own parish St Ignatius. How Blessed I have been with this community.
1: A small room in a presbytery where I had a heartfelt talk with a priest. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst”- was a reality.
2: Walking the Camino. There was something about the rhythm of taking all those footsteps for many days. I had time to say many words to God, for thoughts about the past to come tumbling through my mind, and eventually to know a stillness.
3: Lourdes, France. There was something about the way people were cared for here that really spoke to my heart. And it was another place where I had a special chat with a Kiwi priest and another young Kiwi who I recognised by the flag on his backpack. I took part in the evening candlelit rosary procession, and somehow knew a deep peace after this.
4: Colosseum, Rome. I took part in the Stations of the Cross here one Good Friday evening, with the Pope present amongst the huge crowd. At the end it was a long walk away down a wide avenue that was usually filled with rushing vehicles, but this evening was packed with walking people who had all been together for the Stations of the Cross. Again it was an evening when I knew deep peace.
No churches I notice…. though I do sit in quiet ones sometimes…
And I forgot about a church experience- though it seemed more like a medieval encounter with Heaven rather than God. I was in Paris, and never even knew it was Palm Sunday. I was wandering in some vague direction for somewhere when I stumbled upon the large square in front of Notre Dame. People were all gathered outside, ready to process in for Mass. I decided to join them. I ended up standing for Mass, up front near the altar, right opposite one of the large stained glass rose windows. The archbishop of the time gave the sermon, and he had the kind of ‘classical’ French accent our tapes at school had obviously been modeled on, so I even understood what he said. Then when the pipe organ music played, and the sun streamed in the rose window- truly, it seemed like I was in Heaven!