Thin
places are spaces of mystery and encounter where we meet God in ourselves, in
others, and in the wider world. In each person’s life are thin places where we
experience God’s presence in a powerful way that stirs the soul. Entering thin
spaces is an opportunity that we don’t normally have—to slow down, to pause, to
look with fresh eyes, and to recover a sense of wonder about the world. In
these thin spaces we are broken open, and we encounter ourselves, our
relationship with others and with God, in a deeper and more authentic way.
Truth makes its home in these broken-open places, and we often receive the gift
of new insights and memories. As we become more understanding, compassionate,
and authentic,we open up to new ways of seeing, fresh avenues of thinking, and
ultimately, transformed ways of being.
While
the concept of a thin place is an ancient one, it holds real meaning for us
today as we try to make sense of the world around us and, indeed, within us. On
the road to transformation we can look to saints as guides for how to navigate
the thin places where God is waiting to meet us. On the surface, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Patrick of Ireland may not appear to have much in common, especially
considering that their lives are separated by about 1000 years of history. But
a deeper look at both men’s lives reveals several interesting parallels,
particularly with the spiritual traditions and practices associated with them.
Trust
as a Thin Place In a single day St. Patrick tells us that he
“would say as many as a hundred prayers and at night only slightly less.” (Confessio)
This is expressed most beautifully in the Lorica, also known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate, a prayer form
well-known to the ancient Irish but written three centuries after Patrick’s death. Patrick knew the
precariousness of life and death but trusted in God no matter the
circumstances. “Whatever happens to me, good or evil,” he said, “I must accept
it and give thanks to God. He has taught me to trust in him without any
limits.” Trusting in God without limits is also a theme for St. Ignatius, who
also modeled a life of surrender to God and expressed this theme in his famous
prayer, the Suscipe.
Finding
the Gifts of God in All Things: St. Ignatius and St. Patrick were both gifted
with profound, mystical lives, yet they also emphasized that God is found in
the ordinary moments of life. In his writings, particularly his Confessio,
St. Patrick remarks that the presence of God is all around us. Everything,
including his very own life, “was the gift of God.” St. Ignatius Loyola urged
his followers to find God in all things, and if we seek to find God in our daily lives, God will speak to
us, but first we must attune our presence to him. Jesus invites us to “seek and
you will find” (Luke 11:9), but we are often so busy and distracted that we
fail to see him. St. Patrick and St. Ignatius remind us to seek God in the
ordinary, everyday moments of our lives where God is present in the
here-and-now.
Leaning
into the Mercy of God: Sometimes the decisions we make in life or the
experiences that happen to us through no fault of our own can bring us low and
to the edge of despair. St. Patrick and St. Ignatius had such experiences. “I
was like some great stone, lying deep in the mud,” Patrick tells us, but God
“in his mercy lifted me up” and “placed me on the very top of the wall.” (Confessio)
This is an echo of Ignatius, who cried out to God in his sorrow, “Pardon me, O
mercy of my God, for having despised so long Thy mercy’s voice! In deep sorrow
and contrition, I cast myself at Thy feet: Have mercy on me.” (Francis W.
Johnston, The Voices of the Saints) When we go through trials in
life, both saints remind us that instead of turning inward, we should turn to
God and lean into his mercy.
Thin
places are often wild, messy places of rawness and beauty where God is waiting
to renew and restore us. By journeying with and finding parallels between St.
Patrick and St. Ignatius, we find encouragement to confront whatever we might
find in our thin places and move forward with God’s grace.
