Perhaps there should have been a moratorium on church architecture for a few decades. We have all found a space dedicated to prayer that doesn’t help us to pray at all. This can be particularly difficult when we are used to beautiful spaces that do inspire prayer in a special way. So, what do you do when you have to go to church in an ugly space? Just as we talk about the sanctuary in a worship space, first you need to build a sanctuary in your heart.
Inner Sanctuary
How do you create your own inner sanctuary? Remember that you come to worship to be with God. It is not a walk through an art museum. Ideally, the aesthetic experience would help you but that is not always the case. You can use these moments of prayer in less visually pleasing places to build up a sanctuary in your own heart. As Pope St. John Paul II reminds us, the true sanctuary is not the building, but the heart.
The relationship between man’s freedom and God’s law is most deeply lived out in the “heart” of the person, in his moral conscience (Pope John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, 54).
These moments of prayer in less suitable places can heighten your awareness that your primary goal is to experience God himself, not the space. Now, think, can you do something simple and small to improve the space?
Props
You probably can’t redecorate the whole space, especially if you are with other people. But you may be able to anchor yourself with some symbol or religious object that helps you remember the presence of God. Bring a crucifix or rosary to anchor your prayer. Bring your favorite Bible as a comfort and support. You can choose something that is beautiful that reminds you of God even as you are praying in a space that is less than ideal. Even a phone lockscreen with one of your favorite devotional images can help lift your mind to God. Wouldn’t it be great to always have an image that invites you to lift up your mind and heart to God? Perhaps this experience of an ugly space dedicated to prayer can help you grow in a habit that leads you to pray always in every situation. St. Therese noted that
For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2558).
She does not mention the physical place in this simple description of prayer. Obviously, the physical space can help you center your mind on God, but don’t lose focus on what is most important: God himself. If you are too distracted by the space, perhaps you are going to pray to fulfill your own desires and not enough to seek communion with God. If it is harder to pray in a particular place, remember the idea of “offering it up.”
Offer it Up
Offer up the distractions and difficulties that come from praying in a particular place. I know it can be hard. However, here you bring in some of the asceticism to your prayer that is necessary for any true growth in grace and holiness. One of the misconceptions of spiritual life in our world today is that we can accomplish closeness to Christ without sacrifice. People who think this omit, consciously or unconsciously, important phrases of Christ in the Gospel.
Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me (Mt. 16:24).
Maybe you have to go to Mass in a church that doesn’t match your aesthetic taste. It doesn’t matter enough to allow that to become your main thought. Offer it up and you can gain even more graces during this time of prayer. God will reward you richly for trying to pray even when the external circumstances are challenging. In the end, God can speak to you even in an uninspiring space – if you bring a willing spirit and a spirit open to Him.
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