Holy Places?

I tried not to waste the time I had living in Europe at taxpayers’ expense. I was constantly exploring the countryside, looking for anything unusual or unexpected. Did you know there’s a spot in eastern Belgium where you can wade and swim safely in a running stream? No pollution, either. It’s out near a village called Bütgnebach. There aren’t many places in Europe where the water is that clean.
One of my hobbies on these explorations was finding little religious shrines. Virtually all of them were related to Catholicism. Sometimes it was nothing more than a tiny little mounted cross or figurines in a shaded spot. Sometimes it was a tiny building. Once in awhile it was a small chapel and the varied architecture was always a surprise. Some of them had the date it was dedicated so you learned to predict something of the shrine based on the historical period. I found only one that was so old it didn’t include Mary or one of the listed saints; it had a statue depicting Jesus on His throne.
Reading the text of Scripture, you realize every part of this world has likely places where something about the physical setting seems to speak of things eternal, of things beyond mere human perception. Lots of little sacred groves, or “high place” which simply lent themselves well to various religious expressions. I doubt the ancient pagans would be surprised to find all the little shrines I did when traipsing across Western Europe. They would recognize the odd feeling some humans get when they encounter certain settings.
Sadly, most humans don’t really understand. I admit I consider veneration of Mary and the saints a mistake, but it’s not worth crusading over it. Those little wood and field shrines with statues don’t annoy me or grate on my nerves, most often because I sense the divine in those places myself. At the same time, I realize the place itself has nothing to do with any spiritual focus of power. It has more to do with our human limitations; it’s a question of what it takes for us to start paying attention to something which is ubiquitous when it isn’t missing altogether. That is, if you have any sense at all for spiritual matters, you are most likely to sense the divine Presence in places where you aren’t distracted by human noise, including your own internal noise.
Other people aren’t really the problem, either. If they, too, are seeking a moment where something in them turns to face the Spirit Realm, we can all share the moment, regardless of how we each interpret that event. So long as there is nothing shocking to my sensibilities, I can hear from God. It has nothing to do with their focus, either. It’s simply whether the moment itself helps break down the barriers inside me. Those of us who have invested something in seeking God’s face are fully aware of how difficult it can be. I can still stop in the middle of Times Square on New Years’ Eve and pray, but it won’t be the same as stopping to stare at the Königssee from crest trail near the Eagle’s Nest when there’s no one else around.
When God needs my attention, He’ll get it one way or another. When I feel the need to connect with Him, I certainly prefer places where I’m not distracted by a thousand other things. Isolation in some measure is essential to developing spiritual sensitivity. Given all Creation is bound under the Fall, nothing in the realm of existence is anything more than a deception. The Divine Presence is rooted entirely outside this realm, so it won’t matter where you are in the entire universe. Pick a spot; God is there inasmuch as He is anywhere at all.
No place is holy; every place is holy.