To Bless the Space Between
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: The Scoreboard
- A Single Tree
- Worb, Switzerland in Fall
- The Volto Santo
- Tuscany, Italy
- The Prayer of Music
- Cologne Cathedral
- Pope Francis, Family, and Joy
- Exaltation of the Cross
- The Crumbs of Holiness
- Brienzer Rothorn
- Paris
- Prayer
- School, Dependence, and Paradox
- Pride
- Reflecting Light
- Loving Plan
- The Emmental
- Paris, Death, and Uncertainty
- Mt. Pilatus
- The Corner of Church and Gay
- Good Parenting
- To Change or Not To Change
- One Year Later
- Blausee, Switzerland
- Time is Love
- Bern, Switzerland
- Mürren, Switzerland
- Happy Thursday
- Die Hausmann (The Houseman)
- The Call of a Father
- Kandersteg, Switzerland
- Hope and Home
- Human, A Christmas Carol
- The Mountains and the Divine
- Christmas Market
- A Stare
- Penetrating Light
- Venice, Italy
- The Passion and the WC
- The Mountain
- Resurrection
- Market Day in Bern, Switzerland
- Happy Easter
- Good Friday
- Maundy Thursday
- Holy Week Reflection
- The Great Adventure
- A Man and His Crocs
- “Say You, Say Me”
- Kids, a Ball, and Nature
- Thun, Switzerland
- Invitation
- Sports and Passion
- Sunrise-Worb, Switzerland
- Seeing the Beautiful
- Our First Month
- Summer at Seven
- I Believe
- Radiant Presence
- Family
- U.S.A. vs. Germany
- Our Swiss Weekend
- The Paradox of the Road
- The Adventure Continues…
- Happy Father’s Day?
- Celebrating Earth Day
- Interlaken, Switzerland
- My Search for Communion
- The Universal Language of Sports
- An Experienced Faith
- Worb, Switzerland
- Lake Lugano, Switzerland
- To Bless the Space Between
- Language of Love
- The Bridge
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: The Parent Zone
- A Fire of Hope
- Eyes Without a Face
- Modern-Day School Day
- 43
- A Moment in Time
- A Hidden Truth
- Now More Than Ever, We Need the Wisdom of Sports
- A Plea for Truth
- “Shining Like The Sun”
- Gift of Silence
- The Greatest Illusion
- A Stomping Joy
- Listening to Time
- A Beautiful Closure
- Perfectly Average
- Baseball, Friendship, and Bathroom Prophecy
- Moments in Time: Worb, Switzerland
- Moments in Time: Helena, MT
- Mystery and Mirrors
- Present
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: Sports Wounds
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: Sports Balance
- 45 and the Mid-Life Brisk Walk
- A Scandalous Christmas
- Fire
- Moments in Time: London (The Tube)
- Some Random Thoughts at 44
- Hard To Be Human
- Two Choices
- Coming Out of Hibernation
- The Whispers of Nature
- Facebook, Beauty, and Good Friday
- Moments in Time: Dingle, Ireland
- Let’s Dance
- Moments in Time: Glen Coe, Scotland (Highlands)
- Age of Wisdom
- Happy New Year…Cheers to Cranberry Juice and Coffee
- Stockhorn
- The Story of Paris
- Solothurn, Switzerland
- Tissot Peak Walk, Glacier 3000
- Man vs. Nature
- The Swiss Alps from Another Time
- Not Just Another Day
- The Image
- Buildings
- Domodossola, Italy
- The Gray
- Feeling the Falls
- Love Is
- Opposites
- Sunrise Over Lake Maggiore, Italy
- Weather, Writing, and Truth
- A “Religious” Walk Home
- A Quick Day Trip to Luzern, Switzerland
- Year Two
- The Castle on the Hill
- Cold as Stone (3 Years Later)
- Change
- Yes, I Am In Your Business
- “Uniquely Me”
- The Human Balance
- Beyond Croatia’s Beauty
- Back to Reality
- A Friend to Man
- Merry Christmas
- Finding Freedom
- High School Sports Hall of Fame
- Bonnie Scotland
- Turning the Big 4-0
- Nice, France
- Wrestling with Time
- Rounding Second Base
- A New Hang Out
- Welcome to a Journey…
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: The Parent Zone
- A Single Tree
- Worb, Switzerland in Fall
- The Volto Santo
- Tuscany, Italy
- The Prayer of Music
- Cologne Cathedral
- Pope Francis, Family, and Joy
- Exaltation of the Cross
- The Crumbs of Holiness
- Brienzer Rothorn
- Paris
- Prayer
- School, Dependence, and Paradox
- Pride
- Reflecting Light
- Loving Plan
- The Emmental
- Paris, Death, and Uncertainty
- Mt. Pilatus
- The Corner of Church and Gay
- Good Parenting
- To Change or Not To Change
- One Year Later
- Blausee, Switzerland
- Time is Love
- Bern, Switzerland
- Mürren, Switzerland
- Happy Thursday
- Die Hausmann (The Houseman)
- The Call of a Father
- Kandersteg, Switzerland
- Hope and Home
- Human, A Christmas Carol
- The Mountains and the Divine
- Christmas Market
- A Stare
- Penetrating Light
- Venice, Italy
- The Passion and the WC
- The Mountain
- Resurrection
- Market Day in Bern, Switzerland
- Happy Easter
- Good Friday
- Maundy Thursday
- Holy Week Reflection
- The Great Adventure
- A Man and His Crocs
- “Say You, Say Me”
- Kids, a Ball, and Nature
- Thun, Switzerland
- Invitation
- Sports and Passion
- Sunrise-Worb, Switzerland
- Seeing the Beautiful
- Our First Month
- Summer at Seven
- I Believe
- Radiant Presence
- Family
- U.S.A. vs. Germany
- Our Swiss Weekend
- The Paradox of the Road
- The Adventure Continues…
- Happy Father’s Day?
- Celebrating Earth Day
- Interlaken, Switzerland
- My Search for Communion
- The Universal Language of Sports
- An Experienced Faith
- Worb, Switzerland
- Lake Lugano, Switzerland
- To Bless the Space Between
- Language of Love
- The Bridge
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: Sports Wounds
- A Plea for Truth
- Modern-Day School Day
- 43
- A Moment in Time
- A Hidden Truth
- Now More Than Ever, We Need the Wisdom of Sports
- A Fire of Hope
- Gift of Silence
- Moments in Time: Worb, Switzerland
- The Greatest Illusion
- A Stomping Joy
- Listening to Time
- A Beautiful Closure
- Perfectly Average
- Baseball, Friendship, and Bathroom Prophecy
- Age of Wisdom
- Eyes Without a Face
- “Shining Like The Sun”
- Happy New Year…Cheers to Cranberry Juice and Coffee
- Some Random Thoughts at 44
- Confessions of a Sports Parent: Sports Balance
- 45 and the Mid-Life Brisk Walk
- A Scandalous Christmas
- Fire
- Moments in Time: London (The Tube)
- Present
- Two Choices
- Moments in Time: Helena, MT
- Coming Out of Hibernation
- The Whispers of Nature
- Facebook, Beauty, and Good Friday
- Moments in Time: Dingle, Ireland
- Let’s Dance
- Moments in Time: Glen Coe, Scotland (Highlands)
- Hard To Be Human
- Mystery and Mirrors
- The Castle on the Hill
- Stockhorn
- The Story of Paris
- Solothurn, Switzerland
- Tissot Peak Walk, Glacier 3000
- Man vs. Nature
- The Swiss Alps from Another Time
- Not Just Another Day
- The Image
- Buildings
- Domodossola, Italy
- The Gray
- Feeling the Falls
- Love Is
- Opposites
- Sunrise Over Lake Maggiore, Italy
- Weather, Writing, and Truth
- A “Religious” Walk Home
- A Quick Day Trip to Luzern, Switzerland
- Year Two
- Change
- Cold as Stone (3 Years Later)
- Yes, I Am In Your Business
- “Uniquely Me”
- The Human Balance
- Beyond Croatia’s Beauty
- Back to Reality
- A Friend to Man
- Merry Christmas
- Finding Freedom
- High School Sports Hall of Fame
- Bonnie Scotland
- Turning the Big 4-0
- Nice, France
- Wrestling with Time
- Rounding Second Base
- A New Hang Out
- Welcome to a Journey…
As we walked down to the train stop on Sunday morning the clouds separated to allow the Bernese Alps to come into view. As I watched, I immediately thought of my Pastor from St. Ann in Phoenixville, PA and his insight into being able to “Bless the Space Between” in our lives. I knew I had to find his insight this week from my notes, for the “space between” was becoming visible to me right there in my view. If only I could recognize the same “space between” with my wife and children every day. For this is my daily prayer…
Here are some of the insights of Rev. John J. Newns “To Bless the Space Between”. Thank you Father Newns for all that you have done, and continue to do, for me and my family:
I
To Name Is to Bless
A way to bless is to name something, and/or to give it its proper name. We give it a location in time, space and value. In life, as in real estate, the three most important things are: 1) Location, 2) Location and 3) Location.
We put it into a context.
How (by means of what; in reference to what) do we assign location, context? By means of our GPS. Scripture and Tradition are our God Positioning System or our Grace Positioning System.
Each moment is a moment between Sunday Eucharists; each place is a place between Sunday Eucharists; each event is an event between Sunday Eucharists.
Each moment / space / event takes place within the Paschal Mystery and is a part of a story, a part of The Story, a part of His-Story.
II
The Space Between as The Table
The space between individuals is the meeting space that can be blessed by being named as a potential sacred space. The space between, which simultaneously separates and unites those gathered, is a place of Grace, a space for the Spirit. An image for this is that of “the table”. Sometimes a table is visible; other times the table is invisible; always the table is present as the symbol of encounter, of presence. On the Lord’s Day, the Table becomes visible, and the oneness of each and every “table encounter” of the past seven days becomes visible. On the Lord’s Day, we bring all the tables of the past week to the Table of the Lord to be integrated into the Paschal Act and to be uploaded into the Trinity.
III
The Space Between as The Tone
Some of those who study such things say that communication is about 70% body language, 20% tone, and 10% verbal content. Might the aspect of tone be addressed via attentiveness “the space between”?
With what attitude am I present to the other? And if respect for the other begins with and is inseparable from respect for self, with what attitude am I seeing and treating myself? Who gets admitted to the space, the Table? Who is uninvited, who is not welcome? How real is my Presence? How complete?
IV
The Space Between as the Holy Spirit
In communication, Spirit is (almost) everything. In the presence of a good spirit, communication almost always can happen—even if those present do not speak the same language. In the absence of a good spirit, communication cannot happen—even if those present speak the same language.
The Good Spirit is the Bridge spanning the space between.[iii]
The Good Spirit is the Table, simultaneously connecting even as it preserves distinction.
When Catholics pray “to the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit”, are we not saying that God the Holy Spirit is unity, and that all good unity is a part of and the work of the Holy Spirit?
The space between is not only real and deserving of a name and worth our attentiveness. In the Trinity the Space Between is a Person and this Person is God!
When Catholics pray “to the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit” we are saying:
- God the Holy Spirit is Unity Itself, specifically the Unity
- between God the Father and God the Son.
- Wherever, whenever, and to the degree there is true and good unity, it is a participation in the divine unity—-
- “May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ, be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.”
- “Grant that we who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with His Holy Spirit, and become one Body, one Spirit in Christ.”
- the Unity who is God the Holy Spirit, the Unity that is from God the Holy Spirit, and the Unity that is the “working of the Holy Spirit”
[iii] See the 1991 film “Grand Canyon”