Once again I ponder Christ ascending above the altar in the Sagrada Familia.
In silence He waits in the empty space to gather the prayers of his people.
The tourists are gone, leaving the sun to kiss the ceiling, serenaded by the morning dove.
Icons, cathedrals and sacraments have never confined His grace.
Birthed in the crucible of life, they testify to His abiding presence apart from time and place.
Though locked in the tomb of fear, guarded by an invisible enemy threatening to shatter our world,
He walks through walls into our isolation.
His Spirit ignites our sacred memories into transcendent prayers.
Leaving the exotic behind, we have been summoned home,
Only to find He’s been waiting there all along.
By Elaine Knudtson
Contemplative Pilgrims 