This writer and chaplain guides us through one of the holiest sites in Church history.

The Upper Room, also known as the Cenacle, is located in the southern part of the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and is perhaps best known as the traditional site of the Last Supper since the fourth century AD. The current structure of the room dates approximately from the fourteenth century, which accounts for the existing Gothic-era columns.

According to tradition, this is where the apostles stayed when they were in Jerusalem. It is where the Last Supper took place. The Cenacle is where Jesus washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:1–20), which symbolizes the ministry of loving service. It is where the concept of a loving friendship with Jesus was introduced, as set forth in John’s Last Supper discourses (John 14—16), and gave the apostles a glimpse into the beautiful prayer life of Jesus, sometimes known as the “high priestly prayer,” recorded in John 17. It is the place where the disciples gathered in fear after the death of Jesus and prayed, with Mary, for the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 20:19–23).

By tradition, this is the same room where Jesus appeared, both before and after the resurrection. It was here that the Risen One made visible his wounds to see and touch, and the room where the faith of Thomas emerged. It is where the Risen Lord breathed on them the Holy Spirit “on the evening of that first day of the week” (John 20:19). It is where tongues of fire appeared to them on Pentecost and “they were all filled with the holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). That event marks the birthday of the Church in the presence of our Blessed Mother (Acts 1:14). It is from there that the apostles went forth with boldness sharing the Good News.

For all these reasons, the Upper Room is a much sought-after destination for Christians who travel on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And yet, because it also has great spiritual significance for both Jews and Muslims, the Cenacle is ever at the center of political controversy. Normally only “visits” are allowed to this place because this present structure is contested and claimed by both Israelis and Muslims. Muslims consider it to be a mosque and the Israelis consider the lower level of this structure to be the Tomb of David, which has belonged to the Israelis since 1948. On some occasions, Christians are permitted to celebrate Mass in the Upper Room, but it is not common and is done only with permission.

Even so, the importance of this holy space never ends. In May 2014, Pope Francis visited the Holy Land and was permitted to celebrate Mass in the Cenacle during his three-day pilgrimage. As if to acknowledge this privilege, the pope in his homily said: “It is a great gift that the Lord has given us by bringing us together here in the Upper Room for the celebration of the Eucharist” (May 26, 2014).

Perhaps it is because the apostles spent so much time with Christ in that holy place that we see most clearly their various personalities when they are gathered here, particularly at the Last Supper. Tellingly, it was here that Jesus predicted Judas’s betrayal and Peter’s denial (John 13:21–30, 36–38), and here exposed Thomas’s doubt (John 20:24– 29). The humanity of each apostle is vibrantly portrayed in the Upper Room, giving us a glimpse into our own hearts and nature, as well as into the unrelenting love of Jesus Christ for his followers. It was also in this room from which, filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles would ultimately leave to change the world—your world and mine. For as we hear in Psalm 104:30: “Send forth your spirit, they are created, / and you renew the face of the earth.”

Despite the tensions over its religious significance, the events that took place in the Upper Room prior to and immediately after the crucifixion of Christ, and in the days following his Resurrection, can never be undone or forgotten. The fruits of Jesus’s life and ministry, as witnessed in the precious moments in the Upper Room documented in Scripture, continue in and through the Church. In this humble space, the most important room in all of Christendom, where Jesus set a remarkable precedent of faith and service, we were given a new understanding of God’s love and the revolutionary power of the Holy Spirit was unleashed.

Encountering God In Our Upper Room

My appreciation for the importance of this holy space, considered by some to be the first Christian church, began with a pilgrimage I led to the Holy Land a number of years ago. Our time in that room made a significant impression on me and on all of my pilgrims.

And yet, one need not physically go to the Cenacle to be aware of its spiritual importance. What happened in that Upper Room in Jerusalem almost two millennia ago, both before and after Christ’s resurrection, continues to have significant and grace-filled personal effects on every baptized Christian. The events that took place there continue to rest at the heart of our faith today.

While the Cenacle is a real place, it is also so much more than a simple room or a concrete historical location in Jerusalem. It is here that the apostles retreated from the world to be with Jesus, here they listened with rapt attention as he revealed to them the mysteries that they would one day pass on to thousands of others. It was here, above all, that they were equipped to do the work for which they had been called.

And in that sense, one need not travel to the Holy Land to encounter Christ. Inside each of us is an “upper room,” where we experience the living presence of God. Wherever we are, whenever we take the time to find and speak and listen to God, we can experience his life-giving, sacramental, and transformative presence.

As we ponder what happened out of love for us in that Upper Room at Jerusalem, we begin to experience that this room is an icon of the Church itself. The graces that originated in the events associated with that sacred place continue to transform us through the life of the Church today, creating for us a spiritual home where souls are welcomed and nurtured. Just like the apostles, each one of us needs to spend some time in the upper room in our own hearts, drawing close to God in prayer.

Your upper room might be in your office, your car, or a quiet nook in your house, a place where God speaks to you anew each day. Others experience these Upper Room moments at Mass, or in Eucharistic Adoration.

Three Events In the Upper Room

In that Upper Room during his 2014 visit to Jerusalem, Pope Francis’s homily highlighted three major events that took place in that sacred space: “Here, where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles; where, after his resurrection, he appeared in their midst; where the Holy Spirit descended with power upon Mary and the disciples, here the Church was born, and she was born to go forth.”

And so, following the pope’s teaching, there are three events to study:

• The Last Supper

• The post-Resurrection appearances of the Risen Lord

• Pentecost and its effects on the apostles and early Church

From our perspective almost two millennia later, in these three points in history we see an image of a fruitful Church in that room and from that room. The life of our Church today continues to be reflective of what happened there.

Experiencing the Life of the Church

The events in the Upper Room reveal a great deal about the way we experience the life of the Church. We experience that life…

In sacramental graces. In the Upper Room, Jesus instituted three specific sacraments—the Eucharist, holy orders, and penance. A fourth sacrament (confirmation) has its origin in the imposition of hands that, in a certain way, perpetuates the grace of Pentecost that took place in the Upper Room by the coming of the Holy Spirit. The graces from these sacraments continue to strengthen and sustain the Church in every age.

In service. In the washing of feet on Holy Thursday, we catch a glimpse of the “servant leadership” Christ taught his disciples to practice. “But Jesus summoned them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.… But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave’” (Matthew 20:25–27).

In prayer. In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed not only for his immediate followers but for all those who would follow: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:20–21).

In the profession of Easter faith. As the darkness of Good Friday gives way to the jubilant “Alleluia” of Easter, we profess our faith with all the joy of St. Thomas in seeing the Risen Lord. “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

In the outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit. In the sacraments, particularly at baptism and again at confirmation, the scent of chrism fills our senses with inexplicable joy, just as the followers of Jesus were overwhelmed by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Listen to Peter, as he proclaims the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy: “‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh…and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord’” (Acts 2:17, 21).

In the presence of Mary. Quitting that Upper Room and following her Son as closely as possible, sharing in his suffering as only a mother could, Mary is the icon of Mother Church. Listen as Jesus speaks to her and the “beloved disciple” from the cross: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26–27).

In apostolic zeal. The fire that fell at Pentecost did not remain in that Upper Room, but continued to sustain the missionary nature of the Church to the present day. As Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the Gospel to the Gentiles: “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Acts 13:47).

As Pope Francis said, speaking from the Cenacle on May 26, 2014: “How much love and goodness has flowed from the Upper Room! How much charity has gone forth from here, like a river from its source, beginning as a stream and then expanding and becoming a great torrent. All the saints drew from this source; and hence the great river of the Church’s holiness continues to flow: from the heart of Christ, from the Eucharist and from the Holy Spirit.”

The place of Jesus’ burial was in danger until a historic renovation rolled back years of damage and unearthed long-lost frescoes and inscriptions in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

It is the holiest Christian shrine. But, until March 2017, it was in danger of imminent collapse.

The shrine goes by an odd name, the Edicule, meaning “little house.” It sits under a great dome in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. No bigger than a good-sized garage, its marble-clad walls are festooned with hanging oil lamps and mismatched candlesticks with bare, energy-efficient lightbulbs. Daily, thousands of visitors line up for hours to see the sacred spot believed to be the burial place of Jesus.

Simply finding one’s way to the Edicule to visit the tomb of Jesus isn’t easy.

On my first visit to the church, I was struck—as many pilgrims are—by a sense of “religious chaos” there. Crowded with both religious pilgrims and casual tourists, the space is divided into a confusing maze of chapels, walkways, and stairs. It is noisy—the hubbub of conversation overlaps with periodic religious songs and ringing bells, as liturgies take place in various parts of the church.

On that visit, our guide stuffed us into a procession of people climbing the small stairway to chapels covering what is left of the rock of Calvary. From Calvary, we descended another staircase, past the “Stone of Anointing,” where it’s believed Jesus’ body lay after his death. The crush of pilgrims moved slowly toward the Edicule.

A Sacred Shrine Endangered

In the past 200-plus years, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Edicule had been ravaged by earthquake, water, and fire. The British overseers of Palestine after World War I had warned the three major Christian communities who serve in the church—the Greek Orthodox, the Latins (Roman Catholics, represented by the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land), and the Armenian Orthodox—that the church would be closed unless they agreed to make it safe for visitors. World War II, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the sometimes contentious negotiations among the communities delayed restoration until the 1950s.

In February 1952, the communities formally agreed to restore and stabilize the dome above the Edicule, a project which, along with other repair work, would take until 1997, when the newly restored and redecorated space was inaugurated with an unprecedented ecumenical ceremony.

But beneath the dome, the Edicule sat unchanged in its iron supports. There was no common agreement on its restoration. During my 2012 visit, I was shocked to see a marble panel literally bulging out from its front wall. Smoke darkened its interior and candle wax marred the exterior. The human impact of millions of visitors had taken its toll. Hidden beneath the marble exterior, serious deterioration threatened the shrine’s stability.

In 2015, the Israeli Antiquities Authority and local police, citing the danger to visitors, ordered the Edicule closed for a few hours each day. This action spurred the three Christian communities to meet and eventually act. Restoration experts from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece, assessed the state of the structure.

A Complex History

To understand the problems facing those experts, it’s necessary to understand the complex history of the Edicule and the church in which it stands.

The Gospel stories of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial tell us that he was taken outside the city to Calvary, “the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha” (Jn 19:17). Here, in an abandoned limestone quarry, the Romans executed criminals, raising crosses on the skull-like rock.

After his death, Jesus was buried in a nearby cave offered by Joseph of Arimathea, a follower of Jesus. Wealthy Jews of that time carved tombs in the soft stone walls of the quarry. These tombs sometimes had two chambers—a front area for mourners and an inner chamber with shelves for the bodies of the dead. Today’s Edicule reflects this design.

Christians certainly prayed at the place of Jesus’ resurrection (later incorporated into the city) within the first century. They would have remembered its location even after the Roman Emperor Hadrian covered over the area with tons of rubble and built a pagan temple there.

In the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine approved the removal of the temple and the excavation of the area, uncovering a cave-tomb that was identified by witnesses as that of Jesus. A huge basilica rose over the excavated site, incorporating both the tomb and the rock of Calvary. Within a grand rotunda—called the Anastasis ( “Resurrection”)—a small shrine (the Edicule) was built to protect the tomb itself.

A series of churches and Edicules followed on the spot. These in turn suffered damage and destruction from conquerors, fire, and earthquakes. The present-day Edicule dates only to 1809–1810, when it replaced a structure destroyed by fire.

A Historic Agreement

The team of NTUA experts, led by Professor Antonia Moropoulou, presented their report to the heads of the Christian communities in early 2016. In an interview with St. Anthony Messenger, Professor Moropoulou said: “[It was] after more or less eight months of cooperation and dialogue . . . . But of course, that was not an easy task. It was a great challenge. What was important was that we were empowered by the fact that this environment of dialogue and common trust was a stable ground to go on.”

Using ground-penetrating radar and other noninvasive methods, Professor Moropoulou and her team found that mortar throughout the walls was “susceptible to swelling, dissolution, and degradation.” Up until 1868, a circular opening in the dome above the Edicule allowed rain to pour down on the structure. Moisture was rising through capillary action from water channels and open vaults below the Edicule’s floor. The exterior iron framework, installed by the British in 1948, was deteriorating.

The NTUA team proposed an ambitious plan to:

+ dismantle and remove the stone panels of the Edicule

+ remove all damaged or incompatible mortar

+ repoint the masonry where possible, with injected grouting by a unique process developed by Professor Moropoulou

+ clean all surfaces inside and out

+ stabilize the structure by resetting columns, wall panels, and other elements

+ do conservation work on the dome of the Edicule and interior walls.

The goal of this ambitious plan? Professor Moropoulou says it was “to ensure the structural integrity and to negate the severe deformation . . . [and] to reveal and preserve the values of the Holy Edicule.”

The religious communities were willing to give the go-ahead, but with two conditions.

Fred Hiebert, archaeologist-in-residence at the National Geographic Society (NGS), came to Jerusalem at the invitation of the Greek Orthodox community to observe and document the project. He explained those conditions to St. Anthony Messenger: “The first is that the project could not disturb the Holy Fire [on the Greek Orthodox Easter], so the entire project had to be done between two Easters.

“The second thing, which was even more of a challenge, was that they agreed to carry out the restoration without stopping the pilgrims from going inside. In other words, they couldn’t close the shrine while it was being restored.”

The NTUA’s sophisticated technology, Hiebert contends, was ideal to address the religious communities’ concerns. “To be honest, it sort of blew my mind to see this high technology applied, the same kind of high technology that we use in archaeology: ground-penetrating radar, a laser map that gives you centimeter precision so you know exactly what you’re doing, and thermographic cameras.”

On March 22, 2016, the Greeks, Franciscans, and Armenians held a ceremony in front of the Edicule to mark their agreement. Work began in May and continued around the clock. Behind a temporary barrier, technicians worked while pilgims visited, entering the Edicule through a protected walkway. Marble slabs from the exterior and interior walls were lifted into the second-story gallery of the Franciscans where, in a temporary workshop, restorers could repair and clean them.

As the NTUA team worked, their instruments began to yield mounds of data. Absorbing all that information, Fred Hiebert says, was like “trying to drink from a fire hose. There are so many discoveries that were revealed during the process of architectural conservation. The National Technical University team just didn’t have time to internalize all these new discoveries because we were basically up against a hard deadline. Frescoes got uncovered that had been completely invisible. Inscriptions were found that had been invisible before.”

Hiebert points to one significant find. Between the exterior and interior walls, “two sides of the original cave that scientists and historians have never seen before and have always wondered about” are still present. “It helps—sort of—conclude a centuries-old debate about the actual shape and size of the original cave and the original burial platforms that are inside.”

The ‘Holy Rock’ Revealed

But an even more important revelation came on October 26, 2016. The restoration team needed to open the area venerated as the actual burial place of Jesus. They wanted to install a water barrier to protect the newly restored foundation and walls from future water damage. They asked permission to remove the marble slab over the spot—venerated by centuries of pilgrims. It had been in place since the present Edicule was constructed in 1809.

The communities agreed to close the church for 60 hours, an unprecedented move. There would be no advance notice of when the tomb would be opened. Kristin Romey, staff writer for NGS, told St. Anthony Messenger, “It was a moment that was just so weighted in history . . . and on top of that, there was a whole level of anxiety because the Greeks were very concerned that there would be the potential for a terrorist attack while the tomb was opened, so they would not even tell us the day that it was going to happen. They just said, ‘Be in Jerusalem this week. We’ll give you a couple of hours’ notice. Be prepared to be locked in the church for up to 60 hours.’ That’s the maximum amount of time to have it open.”

A select group of observers from among the Christian communities, with other guests, waited as the marble slab was carefully removed. Below it was a second slab, broken horizontally, and bearing a portion of a carved cross. This second slab had been reported centuries earlier by eyewitnesses. Scholars speculated that it dated from the Crusades, but now it awaited analysis by the Greek team.

Beneath the second slab was original stone, believed to be the resting place of Jesus after the crucifixion. Until this moment, the team had not seen evidence of the rock bed with their ground-penetrating radar.

A Moment of Faith

The Holy Land Review, official publication of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, reported reactions of the Franciscans and their associates who were permitted to view the opened tomb.

Franciscan Father Dobromir Jazstal, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, recalled: “It was without any doubt a very moving moment. When the slab was lifted off, everyone was trying to imagine what might be there underneath. We were experiencing something really special, which brought us near to Christ himself.”

Franciscan Father David Grenier, secretary of the Custody of the Holy Land, observed the emotions of those present. “I saw all those who went in and I saw them come out. One after the other, their eyes were shining with tears, filled with emotion.”

Osama Hamdan, architect for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, brought a different viewpoint: “I am a Muslim, and Jesus is a prophet for us. To work at the tomb of Jesus—it’s really emotional. To be here, at this exact moment, I felt very privileged. The Sepulchre is part of the places that are also venerated by Muslims. It has a great religious and historical value.”

While some would have wished to make a more thorough examination of the burial place of Jesus, the deadline of Orthodox Easter 2017 loomed. The opening was sealed and work continued. But measurements taken while it was exposed would offer one further surprise. Samples examined using archaeometric investigation revealed that mortar holding the lower slab to the bedrock dates to AD 345, plus or minus 165 years. This means that the lower slab (thought to be more recent) comes from the Constantinian era.

More revelations will certainly come as the mountain of data is studied and released, something Professor Moropoulou promises future generations. One concession to the future came as the team was permitted to open a window in the inner wall of the tomb chamber, opposite the burial place of Jesus. A Plexiglas cover will permit future monitoring of the original stone of the cave. And this “window into time” will offer an opportunity for pilgrims to view the Holy Rock that witnessed the Resurrection.

Greg Friedman, OFM, is a Franciscan friar in service to the Franciscans of the Holy Land and editor of The Holy Land Review. Marie-Armelle Beaulieu and Beatrice Guarrera of Terre Sainte Magazine contributed to the reporting for this article.

The Silent Witness: An Easter Reflection

We waited with a sense of great anticipation on the night of October 26, 2016, as inside the Edicule enshrining the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, engineers under the supervision of the National Technical University of Athens prepared to expose something that had been seen by no living creature. The marble slab covering the burial site of Jesus, in place since 1555 and not opened since 1809, was about to be removed.

The sense of awe at being present for such a historic occasion was broken only by the occasional nervous chatter of the Greek Orthodox monks, the Franciscans (representing the Catholic Church), and Armenian Orthodox.

Would the tomb reveal anything? Would this be somewhat akin to those occasions when a long-lost safe, retrieved from the depths of the ocean and now primed to reveal its secrets, disappointed? A la Hollywood, would the earth shudder? Would a voice from deep within boom out, “This is holy ground! This far and no farther!”? Would sparks emerge? A lightning bolt, perhaps?

Yet everyone was quiet when the official representatives of those three Churches emerged to say that, for the moment, all that was visible underneath the now-removed slab was a kind of filling of unknown origin.

As the hours wore on into the next day, it was with excitement that we received the news that, with the filling carefully removed, the tomb revealed yet another marble slab with a cross, and underneath that, a portion of the rock on which Jesus’ body had lain. (Previously, scholars had doubted that any part of the rock could have remained, given the ravages of time and the deliberate destruction of the area in 1009 by the Fatimids.)

But there it was. Whenever pauses in the work permitted, we were able to enter, and experience the once-in-a-lifetime privilege of seeing and touching the holy rock. It was here in this place that the greatest event in the history of humanity occurred more than 2,000 years ago, when sin and death were conquered by the raising of Jesus from the dead.

How I wanted that rock to speak!

But the rock remained silent. It continues to keep its silent watch just as it has done for all these years.

Now, any time that I enter the Edicule, whether it be to celebrate the Eucharist or to incense the tomb on other occasions, I always take the time and look toward that portion of the cave wall on the southern side, where now a narrow window that was exposed during the course of the recent work offers a view of a section of the rock.

I want to say to it, “Speak. What was it like to have seen and received the broken and bruised body of your Creator? How did it feel to have supported and held it, as if you could have wrapped your arms around it to offer comfort on that Good Friday evening, and then to have looked on in sheer amazement as he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning?”

In its silence, it looks back at me as if to say, “Now you tell what you have seen and heard. He is not here! He is risen. Alleluia!”

Franciscan Father Fergus Clarke serves with the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Work That Remains

The NTUA team completed their work in time for the celebrations of Easter in the Holy Sepulchre in April 2017. Now that the Edicule is clean and stable for the first time in nearly two centuries, its safety is assured for the foreseeable future.

But the team, led by Professor Moropoulou, tempers that assurance with a warning. The floor beneath the rotunda is itself threatened. Open vaults and numerous water chambers collect rainwater and sewage. The same process of deterioration that threatened the Edicule now bodes an uncertain future for the Anastasis itself and thus with it, the Edicule.

The NTUA team has offered a plan to the Christian communities to eliminate this threat. But the communities, cautious of disrupting the daily flow of pilgrims and the conduct of daily rituals, have yet to act.

Time inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre proceeds according to the demands of faith, worship, and ancient customs. And yet, over the centuries, the world outside has intervened into the chronology of salvation—most often in a destructive way. The project to restore the Edicule has been historic, in its positive outcomes, thanks to the cooperation of the Christian communities (photo above). The encounter of science and faith offers hope for this holiest of Christian shrines.

Money can’t buy any of these, because at the heart of them is love, in its various forms. The common source is the One who is love itself. Love doesn’t compute in the economic realm; it doesn’t factor into the gross domestic product or the S&P 500. Yet its measure is infinitely clear on a deathbed or at a funeral.

Isn’t the natural world priceless too? Who of us, for example, hasn’t had an experience in which the loveliness of nature inspired us with love for its Creator—an experience that no amount of money could buy? Scripture is replete with such witness, from the Book of Job to the Psalms to the sermon on the mount, in which Jesus urged his followers to consider the lilies of the field.

When we look back on our lives, I hope we can say we lived with gratitude for all that is priceless and precious.

In addition to beauty, science has helped us recognize the crucial ecosystem services that nature also provides us at no charge, and which no amount of money or technology could replace. Nature gives us food, raw materials, energy, soil replacement, irrigation, air and water purification, coastal protection, climate regulation, flood control, and waste decomposition. These all come without price, and they are all precious, as we would quickly learn if we lost them.

Given that we are rapidly diminishing the earth’s capacity to provide these resources, concerned scientists have tried to assign a dollar value to global ecosystem services. In 2014, that figure was $142.7 trillion—compared to a total gross world product of $77.8 trillion. How strange: Environmental services that are essential to our survival and are worth almost twice our overall global economic activity basically don’t even factor into our key economic indicators. At the end of the day, though, even better accounting won’t tell the whole story—because God’s infinite love is also at the core of nature’s gifts.

When we look back on our lives, I hope we can say we lived with gratitude and care for all that is priceless and precious. To my mind, that’s what it means to be at home on God’s good earth.

Count Your Blessings

1. Do you tell those you love how precious they are to you? How might you cultivate similar gratitude for nature?

2. Take some time to list everything nature does to make your life better, easier, or even possible. It will be a long list!

3. Consider reading The Green Bible—an NRSV version of the Bible that highlights (in green, of course) all passages related to nature and the environment.

Sometimes the key to growing our faith is a return to the basics.

In 1205, Saint Francis of Assisi heard these words in a vision: “Rebuild my church, for you see it is falling into ruin.” Every so often, religious institutions become rigid and need to be revived and reborn. Catholics teach that “the Church was reformed but is always in need of reformation.” Reformation is the perpetual process of conversion that is needed by all individuals and by all institutions. When Churches become machines more than movements, it’s a sign that they must shake off historical and cultural calcifications so they can continue evolving as a living movement. Just as in Scripture and our own lives, growth is never in a straight line; it is often three steps forward and two steps backward.

At a time when so many people are leaving the Church and Christianity’s reputation may seem irreparably damaged, we again need to rebuild our faith “from the bottom up,” upon its strong foundation.

My spiritual father, Saint Francis, was a master of making room for the new and letting go of that which was tired or empty. He was ready for absolute newness from God and, therefore, could also trust fresh and new attitudes in himself. His God was not tired, and so he was never tired. His God was not old, so Francis remained forever young.

Francis was the first to create a living Nativity scene, bringing to life the revolutionary way God revealed God’s self in the vulnerability of a baby in a manger. The incarnation of God in Jesus was foundational to Francis, and he wanted others to experience its life-changing power.

Francis was at once very traditional and entirely new in the ways of holiness. Franciscanism is not an iconoclastic dismissal of traditional Christian images, history, or culture, but a positive choosing of the deep, shining, and enduring divine images that are hidden beneath the too-easy formulas. It is no fast-food religion, but slow and healthy nutrition, drawing from what Francis called “the marrow of the Gospel.”

Both Jesus and Francis did not let the old get in the way of the new, but like all religious geniuses, revealed what the old was saying all along. Francis both named and exemplified that “first, churchless incarnation in the human heart.” But somehow he also knew that it was the half-knowing, organized Church that passed this shared mystery on to him and preserved it for future generations. He had the humility and patience to know that whatever is true is always a shared truth; and institutions, for all their weaknesses, make this widely shareable, historical, and communal.

Both Jesus and Francis were “conservatives” in the true sense of the term: They conserved what was worth conserving—the core, the transformative life of the Gospel—and did not let accidentals get in the way. They then ended up looking quite “progressive,” radical, and even dangerous to the status quo. This is the biblical pattern, from Abraham to Moses, to Jeremiah, Job, John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph.

Embracing Change

Transformation often happens when something old falls apart. The pain of disruption and chaos invites the soul to listen at a deeper level and move to a new place. The mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, darkness, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the evil one. Whatever it is, it does not feel good and it does not feel like God. We will do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart. This is when we need patience, guidance, and the freedom to let go instead of tightening our controls and certitudes. Perhaps Jesus is describing this phenomenon when he says, “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those that find it are few” (Mt 7:14). Not accidentally, he mentions this narrow road right after teaching the Golden Rule. Jesus knows how much letting go it takes to “do to others whatever you would have them do to you” (7:12).

Transformation usually includes a disconcerting reorientation. Change can either help people find a new meaning, or cause people to close down and turn bitter. The difference is determined by the quality of our inner life, or what we call “spirituality.” Change of itself just happens; spiritual transformation is an active process of letting go, living in the confusing dark space for a while, and allowing yourself to be spit up on a new and unexpected shore.

In the moments of insecurity and crisis, “shoulds” and “oughts” don’t really help; they just increase the shame, guilt, pressure, and likelihood of backsliding. It’s the deep “yeses” that carry you through. Focusing on something you absolutely believe in, that you’re committed to, will help you wait it out.

Worth the Wait

Love wins over guilt any day. It is sad that we settle for the short-run effectiveness of shaming people instead of the long-term life benefits of grace-filled transformation. But we are a culture of progress and efficiency, impatient with gradual growth. God’s way of restoring things interiorly is much more patient—and finally more effective. God lets Jonah run in the wrong direction, until this reluctant prophet finds a long, painful, circuitous path to get back where he needs to be—in spite of himself! Looking in your own “rearview mirror” can fill you with gratitude for God’s work in your life.

In so many places, there are signs of the Holy Spirit working at all levels of society. The Church might well have done its work as leaven, because much of this reform, enlightenment, compassion, and healing is outside the bounds of organized religion. Only God is going to get the credit.

The toothpaste is out of the tube. There are enough people who know the big picture of Jesus’ thrilling and alluring vision of the reign of God that this Great Turning cannot be stopped. There are enough people going on solid inner journeys that it is not merely ideological or theoretical. This reformation is happening in a positive, nonviolent way. The changes are not just from the top down, but much more from the bottom up. Not from the outside in, but from the inside out. Not from clergy to laity, but from a unified field where class is of minor importance. The big questions are being answered at a peaceful and foundational level, with no need to oppose, deny, or reject.

I sense the urgency of the Holy Spirit, with over 7 billion humans now on the planet. There is so much to love and embrace. I am convinced that the only future of the Church, the one body of Christ, is ecumenical and shared. Each of our traditions have preserved and fostered one or another jewel in the huge crown that is the cosmic Christ; only together can we make up the unity of the Spirit, as we learn to defer to one another out of love.

A Solid Foundation

If we are going to rebuild Christianity from the bottom up, what is the foundation upon which we’re building? Love is our foundation and our destiny. It is where we come from and where we’re headed. As Saint Paul famously says, “So faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13).

Saint Augustine said, “The Church consists in the state of communion of the whole world.” Wherever we are connected, in right relationship—you might say “in love”—there is the Christ, there is the authentic “body of God” revealed. This body is more a living organism, a dynamic and growing body, than any formal organization.

God’s love is planted inside each of us as the Holy Spirit who, according to Jesus, “will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you” (Jn 14:26). Love is who you are.

Only God in you can know God. You cannot know God in an intimate, experiential way with your mind alone. You are going to need full-access knowing, which many of us call nondual consciousness, the contemplative mind, or even the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16).

Great religion seeks utter awareness and full consciousness, so that we can, in fact, receive all. Everything belongs and everything can be received. We don’t have to deny, dismiss, defy, or ignore. What is, is the great teacher. The purpose of prayer and religious seeking is to see the truth about reality, to see what is. And at the bottom of what is, is always goodness. The foundation is always Love.

Enlightenment is to see and touch the big mystery, the big pattern, the Big Real. Jesus called it the reign of God; Buddha called it enlightenment. Philosophers might call it Truth. Many of us see it as Foundational Love.

The central practice in mature spirituality, therefore, is that we must remain in love (Jn 15:9). Only when we are eager to love can we see love and goodness in the world around us. We must ourselves remain in peace, and then we will find peace over there. Remain in beauty, and we will honor beauty everywhere. This concept of remaining or abiding (Jn 15:4-5) moves religion out of any esoteric realm of doctrinal outer space where it has been lost for too long. There is no secret moral command for knowing or pleasing God, or what some call “salvation,” other than becoming a loving person in mind, heart, body, and soul. Then you will see what you need to see. Jesus did not say, “Thou shalt be right”; Jesus said, “This is my commandment, ‘Love one another'” (Jn 15:12).

I pray that you may be firmly planted in the breach between the world as it usually is (Power) and the world as it should and could be (Love). Both love and power are the necessary building blocks of God’s peaceful kingdom on earth. Love utterly redefines the nature of power. Power without love is mere brutality (even in the Church), and love without power is only the sentimentality of private lives disconnected from the Whole. The Gospel in its fullness holds power and love together, creating new hope and healing for the world.

May you go and grow forward as a breach-mender, restoring the places in which God’s presence has become hidden or misrepresented. Have courage and be tender.

People who had ordinary encounters with Jesus in the Gospels can aid our daily journey as disciples.

A very wealthy young man runs to Jesus, kneels at his feet and asks him: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). After this eager inquirer asserts that he has faithfully kept God’s commands all his life, Jesus lovingly invites him to a deeper level of discipleship—along with a promise that he will find treasure in heaven—after selling his possessions. When the young man hears this, he walks away sad because he refuses to give up his many possessions.

As compelling as this story is, we may also find it helpful to recall that Mark describes this young man as running to ask his question. This story can prompt us to question the pace and direction of our own spiritual journeys: How eagerly do we approach Jesus? Do we run to him? Or does fear hold us back?

Do we approach Jesus with hesitations and doubt? Or do we take our questions and concerns elsewhere? Don’t we daily seek direction and guidance? While driving short or long distances, many of us rely on GPS. We implicitly trust that the GPS will quickly and safely guide us to our destination Is there a similarly reliable guidance system for our spiritual lives and our relationship with Jesus?

Alice, a 33-year-old working mother of two small boys, recently shared: “How do I have time to pray and find God? I am so busy with my two children, and it’s much easier for me to pray at Christmas or Easter since I enjoy these seasons with my children, family members, friends and co-workers. But what about the in-between times when I often feel rather adrift, without a clear spiritual focus?”

What Alice calls “in-between times” the Christian liturgical year names “Ordinary Time,” the liturgical period between Christmas and Lent and again from Pentecost to Advent. Alice is asking the same question as many contemporary spiritual seekers: How can we more actively and securely follow Jesus’ guidance amid our daily tasks?

Using Gospel passages and reflection questions, this article will offer five pathways for spiritual journeys: encounter, trust, faith, freedom and community.

Pathway to Encounter

“But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

Maurice, a 23-year-old college graduate, is struggling to launch his marketing and advertising career. Having crafted his résumé to showcase his newly honed skills, he finally admits that he doesn’t know how to talk about himself any more creatively. “Who am I?” he asks. “How do I let others know of my talents when I have so little experience in this competitive field? If only someone would take the time to get to know me and to give me a chance! If only I could meet the right person to help me get started in my career! I need assurance from God that I’ve made the right life choice after all of my years of education.”

Maurice is not alone as he seeks confirmation from God that he has discerned his life’s work well enough; many of us desire certainty that we are following the right path. The moving encounter between Peter and Jesus at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13-20) may help us reflect on our spiritual identity, who we are and who Christ is for us personally.

Note the persistence and urgency in Jesus’ question to Peter, “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Peter’s heartfelt naming of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, prompts Jesus to call Peter “blessed.”

Doesn’t Jesus ask each one of us, “Who do you say that I am?” Have we ever considered that Jesus desires a personal response from us as much as he did from Peter? How do we call upon Christ? How does Christ call to each of us in our everyday lives? We too seek the consolation of knowing that we are individually blessed and affirmed by Christ.

Pathway to Trust

“Do not worry about your life.” (Matthew 6:25a)

Nellie, a 68-year-old grandmother, is very concerned about her financial security because her retirement savings have declined significantly since 2008. She admits she’s been worrying about everything important to her. “I don’t want to be a burden on my children and grandchildren, in particular, since they all have their own lives to worry about. I thought that I had provided well enough for myself; now I realize, however, that I may not have enough for my golden years. What shall I do? How do I find peace of mind during these challenging times?”

In reading Matthew 6:25-34, a passage filled with images of natural beauty, we and Nellie encounter Jesus pointing to the nourished birds of the air, carefully clothed grass in the field and gloriously dressed wildflowers as a way to foster deep trust in God’s loving providence. While stressing the priority of the Kingdom of God before all else, Jesus clearly tells us that nature’s beauties can teach us a great deal. We can ask ourselves: Do we really desire to believe Jesus when he assures us that we need not worry?

How well we know which concerns and worries can consume us! Does our beautiful world invite us to trust more deeply in God’s personal care for us? How does Jesus care for us in daily life?

Pathway to Faith

“Do not be afraid; just have faith….” (Luke 8:50)

As a 42-year-old, Roger sees his life as a treadmill of overwork. He notices that he cannot stop as he goes from one thing to another. “I wish that I could take time to enjoy my family and friends more; there is so much to do, however, and I want to provide well enough for my family, especially in these difficult economic times. But I’m afraid that this pace of work is killing me, really. And I don’t know what to do about it. Does God indeed want me to work this hard?”

The Gospel story in which Jesus heals the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:40-42,49- 56) presents another father trying to provide for his loved ones. Jairus loves his 12-year-old daughter so much that even the skeptical crowd’s ridicule does not keep him from showing faith in Jesus. How might we need to let go of our fears and give these to God so that we can truly believe—not because of what others have told us, but because we have experienced God’s reassurance in ways that exceeded our wildest imaginings!

As Jesus takes Jairus’s daughter by the hand, his words to the synagogue official are realized: “Do not be afraid; just have faith…” (v. 50).

How might our own pathway to faith, our journey, be enriched by placing ourselves within this story? Are we like the crowd? Do we resemble Jairus more? Or do we need some kind of healing as Jairus’s daughter did? As we ponder this passage, we might ask: Of what or of whom are we afraid? Do we share these fears with God? Do we believe that God can release us from these fears? How is Jesus increasing our faith even as he desires our wholeness?

Pathway to Freedom

“Take away the stone.” (John 11:39a)

Julie, a successful and effective clinical therapist, has spent 30 years working to help others free themselves from compulsions, addictions and whatever blocks inner freedom and joy. She, however, cannot dislodge her “heavy stone” of resentment and not forgiving her father, who abandoned her as a child.

After years of intense counseling, Julie claims that nothing has worked for her and then asserts: “I can’t forgive my father for leaving us. He never even called or sent money to my mother to help take care of us. He just left. And here I am holding all this anger and rage within me like a heavy weight. What else can I do? Ironically, although I help others on their journey to be free, I can’t seem to free myself from this burden!”

The story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-44 reminds Julie and each of us that heaviness in our hearts and souls can prevent us from experiencing the fullness of God’s presence.

This dramatic Gospel scene opens with a message to Jesus from Mary and Martha that their brother Lazarus, the one whom Jesus loves, is ill. Since Lazarus died four days before Jesus arrives, he allows himself to be led to the tomb and then commands, “Take away the stone” (v. 39a).

Despite the crowd’s obvious skepticism, Jesus loudly bids Lazarus to leave the tomb. When Lazarus appears fully bound, Jesus directs that Lazarus be untied and set free.

Reflecting on this narrative may lead us to ask: How might we identify some of the stones and bindings that hinder our inner freedom as we seek God in daily life? Do we, like Lazarus, need assistance to become truly free? How does Jesus love us even as we deal with what hinders our interior freedom? How might we ask Jesus to remove what prevents our going free?

Pathway to Community

“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

Jeanne-Marie lost all contact with eight family members in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Now she struggles to understand how she can go on in the face of this tragedy.

She says: “I feel so alone and I don’t know where to turn. Do I go back to Haiti and search for them? Do I trust that I will be notified when more information is available? So often, my prayers feel empty when I pray alone. I really do need the support of others right now. Who can help me?”

The story in Matthew 18:19-20 can offer heartfelt consolation to Jeanne-Marie and everyone who needs assurance that God is indeed present as we gather with others. We do not make our life journey alone. The gift of community is essential because joining with even one other person can reaffirm that Jesus is already present in our midst (v. 20).

This kind of spiritual accompaniment can occur within families, prayer groups, parishes and support groups—as well as with sponsors, spiritual directors, pastors, friends or mentors.

Do we welcome others on our spiritual pathways? Or do we try to make our way alone? Do we realize and value how much others may rely on us? Do we believe that Christ is truly present in everyone with whom we share life and prayer? Do we gather with them in our prayer and spiritual seeking? What might we pray for in God’s name? What do we sense is God’s response?

Our Journey Continues

Often we find ourselves at a crossroads in our spiritual journey, needing guidance and assurance that we are following the right path.

As we seek to follow Jesus in our own “ordinary time,” we know that the Gospels offer abundant and varied stories to help us realize where Jesus is leading us. As we follow him more closely, the pathways experienced through encounter, trust, faith, freedom and community can assure us that even ordinary days are times when extraordinary grace can unfold, as the Gospels affirm.

We know the rich young man, Peter, Jairus’s daughter and Lazarus only because the Gospels describe their transformative encounters with Jesus. Might these Gospel witnesses encourage us to seek extraordinary graces from Christ as we follow their example and journey through ordinary days?

Since we know that Jesus identifies himself as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6a), and if we are looking for a reliable spiritual GPS, could we have a more secure guide than Jesus himself? Can we pray to trust Jesus as he assures us that he is our way as we seek his guidance and strength amid life’s joys, sorrows, challenges and detours?

As we notice where our hearts are most deeply drawn while pondering our life’s direction, we may be able to hear and believe Jesus’ ultimate promise: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

Perusing the ingredients of my kitchen, bathroom, and laundry cleaning supplies, I discovered words I didn’t think semantically possible. Let these roll off your tongue: diethylene glycol; benzyl ammonium chloride; nonylphenol ethoxylate. Never heard of them? You should. We all should. They’re ingredients found in most cleaners that we employ regularly. And they could be making us sick.

Ammonia, found in most window cleaners, has been linked to kidney and liver damage. The ingredients found in toilet bowl cleaner can be harmful or fatal if swallowed and can damage skin and eyes. In fact, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported one year that over 120,000 children under 5 were involved in incidents involving everyday household cleaners.

But there are alternatives for the health-conscious consumer.

Do Your Homework

Go to epa.gov to learn about the components of cleaning products and the risks associated with them.

Go Retro

Remember when our grandmothers swore by the cleaning authority of vinegar and lemons?? They were right—and ahead of their time. Vinegar, a natural byproduct of fruits, vegetables, and grains, is nontoxic, noncorrosive, and biodegradable. It’s also effective.

Make Your Own Cleaner

There are dozens of websites—such as Keeper of the Home—that provide recipes for homemade cleaners.

Shop Smart

Don’t want to fuss with making your own? Look into companies such as Seventh Generation that offer biodegradable, phosphate- and chlorine-free ingredients in their products.

Pope Francis, trained as a scientist, understands the delicate balance we have to strike in making choices for our homes and our common home. At a general audience, he said, “Because we dwell in a common home, we cannot help but ask ourselves about the state of its health, as I sought to do in Laudato Si’. Water and air pollution, the indiscriminate exploitation of forests, and the destruction of the natural environment are often the result of man’s indifference to man, since everything is interrelated.

“Then too, there is the way we treat animals, which has an effect on the way we treat other people, not to mention what people freely do elsewhere that they would never dare do at home.

“In these and in other situations, indifference leads to self-absorption and a lack of commitment. It thus contributes to the absence of peace with God, with our neighbor and with the environment.”