A nice perk of having a daughter live in Colorado, is the ability to hike mountains, passes and trails at elevation. I have been where that air is thin, the exertion, as well as the view, have taken my breath away. This is what initially comes to mind when I think of ‘thin places.’
The phrase, ‘thin places’ comes from an Irish Celtic tradition called ‘caol ait kweel awtch.’ The idea can simply be looked at as mountain tops or other locales where the air is thin or hard to breathe, where there is mystery in the landscape, and where the veil between heaven and earth is permeable. The Celts were deeply connected to the natural world and considered every aspect of the ordinary elements of everyday life to be infused with the presence of the Divine. A thin place would be a location or moment where the veil between heaven and earth would be pierced. A special part of God’s creation.
Thin places reflect a spareness in the physical-spiritual barrier. Where the space between the divine and the commonplace is exceptionally narrow. Where we encounter God in ways that startle us out of our inattention, leaving us transformed by the experience. To declare a place “thin” is to name it, Sacred. A location or a moment that should be treated with reverence.
Some thin place locations have become places of pilgrimage, such as Jerusalem, Caesarea
Philippi, or Lourdes in France. Other thin place locales are particular to our own experiences and serve as touchstones as we seek to encounter the Divine and dwell in the presence of God. For me it can be a mountaintop in the Colorado Rockies or the porch swing in my backyard.
Thin places can be moments, no matter the location, such as a warm embrace from a loved one, a conversation with a dear friend, a certain song, even a campfire. They can also be reflected in people. I was recently moved by a family relative, Sister Carol, in such a way I could feel the presence of Jesus in her – she is living proof of God’s existence. The richness of thin places goes beyond what is usual, regular, or customary. They sustain and nourish our faith, our hope.
They are often in-between places and times, like dawn or dusk, forest edges, seashores, and mountain tops. Where things aren’t quite one thing or another. Where the shroud between heaven and earth gets blurred. Where time can feel like it is standing still.
“A thin place is a place where the boundary between heaven and earth is especially thin. It’s a place where we can sense the divine more readily.” – Reverand Dr. Mark D. Roberts
A thin place can be a walk with God, an ‘awe walk’. A walk specifically focused on the inspiration in our environment. More than simply taking a stroll in nature, it consists of increased joy and feelings of generosity and kindness; a sense of wonder and reverence in which we feel a part of something larger than us, it transcends our understanding of the world. The bigger picture is glimpsed. We suddenly feel closer to God. Awe walks are simple, easy, and free. They promote a healthy sense of proportion between us and the bigger picture of the world around us.
The Old Testament is abundant with thin places. The Garden of Eden was the first thin place. Moses was in a physical thin place when he first met God at the burning bush (Exodus 3). Elijah met God on a mountain top (1 Kings 19). Jacob wrestled an angel (Genesis 32:25-31). The pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). Mount Sinai, the Jordan River, and the Garden of Gethsemane are all New Testament locations where heaven and earth touch.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul signifies a mental journey to a nonearthly space, thin place, set apart by God, in which privileged knowledge was revealed to him. Paul uses “this person” as an indirect way of referring to himself to emphasize the distance between the revelations and his everyday life.
Calvary is a thin place both in location and moment. It had both a physical and spiritual
thinness. Jesus is heaven come down to earth. He died as a human being. By His resurrection, He received new life in the Spirit. Heaven meeting earth in its finest and for our salvation. Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3). For Catholics, the fullness of the Eucharist as the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Savior, is Heaven uniting with earth.
We are God’s Thin Place. We are Spiritual beings having a human experience. The presence of the Divine is infused within us. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
