Advent, a Season of Thin Places

The ancient Celts embraced a sense of Thin Places – not because the air is rarified or the land is narrow but because the distance between heaven and earth shrinks, and time and eternity embrace. A thin place is where the veil between this world and the next is lifted for a moment, and it may be possible to get a glimpse of what one’s life is all about—perhaps of what life itself is all about.

The Celts saw these sacred thin places in sacred wells where refreshing water was drawn.  On mountain tops where they felt close to God.  In the forest where the voice of God was heard in the rustling of the winds and in the breezes. And on high cliffs where the power of God was felt and experienced.

For the past 2,000 years Christians have viewed Advent as a Thin Time.  A season where the lines and barriers between heaven and earth are blurred and often traversed.  A time where women and men draw close to God; as God draws close to them.

This Advent we invite you to reflect on your own Advent experienced of a thin place or thin time in your life. It may be a person or a situation.  A memory or an experience.  It may be recent or long since passed. An experience where you felt close to God, the Saints, a Biblical figure, your own personal “communion of saints” or to yourself or family and friends.

Reflecting on this thin place or thin time during this season of preparing and awaiting can be a great way for you to await the great feast of the Incarnation.

May your memory be a means for you to experience a space where: the distance between heaven and earth shrinks, and time and eternity embrace.