I believe God is with me all the time; I can talk to God whenever I want. I try to be thankful for the small things– like excellent parking spaces– and ask for help when I’m writing an email or some sort of post, to bring me the words to share. I don’t need to be in a church to feel God.
But the pandemic taught me something about the importance of sacred spaces, like churches, in my life.
I remember once, my former CCD teacher whose son was my age, told me that her sacred space had become when she was riding her horse. I believe that stuck with me because it was the first time someone had said that to me (I was still fairly young– probably in high school if not younger when she told me that). Other people have said that to me throughout the years, but now that I’m older, I do believe you can be in different sacred spaces– to you– but there is no substitute for being in a church.
I didn’t realize it until Greg and I were several weeks into getting back to going to mass consistently each weekend again. Then I began to receive what I call “my messages” and that’s when I saw how important it is to take the time to go to church.
There is something to be said for taking an hour out of the day and going to a space where I am not bothered by the million things I want to do or the other interruptions in life. Of course my mind wanders at church, it wanders no matter where I am. Yet I am more able to hear God because I’m not distracted by so many other things.
I also had started putting in my prayer before mass to Our Lady of Guadalupe, asking her for my messages that I need to receive that day. In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed an uptick in them– ideas, thoughts, even questions for manuscripts I’m working on. Sure, these could come to me anytime, but there is more room you might say in my brain at the time of being in church because there are fewer distractions around me.
While most people don’t understand it, LA is a sacred space for me. I replenish my soul there, I get new ideas, I find inspiration to keep me going until the next trip. Even if we can’t make it to mass, we always stop at my favorite church, St. James in Redondo Beach, so I can light a candle. A photo never does this stained glass justice. But it’s about more than the photo– that church, that sacred space, has been a place where I have been more than thankful, but ask for the help on the road to where I’m heading next.
Both churches are important in who I am, in who I want to be, and finding the strength to not just stay the course, but to believe this path I’m on is going to get me where I want to go. And where I’m supposed to go.