holy ground
I Am On Holy Ground
3rd Sunday Of Lent – Year C
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: March 23, 2025
Have you ever had an experience like Moses in our first reading today? He approaches a mysterious burning bush, he is told to remove his sandals, for he is on Holy Ground. An experience of the Holy God, an encounter with the God, who simply says, “I am who I am.” Have you ever had a burning bush experience where you recognized that you were on Holy Ground?
As Catholics, the sense of being on Holy Ground should actually be very familiar to us. In our churches, we have the Tabernacle. A vigil light is kept burning near it to remind us of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. When we enter a church we genuflect to the tabernacle. It is like we are removing our sandals recognizing that in the presence of the Tabernacle we are on Holy Ground.
In the centre of our churches is the Altar. When we cross the Altar we normally bow. For this Altar is where the Sacrifice of the Mass takes place and the Real Presence of Jesus comes into our midst in the consecrated bread and wine. In the Altar we recognize that here we are on Holy Ground.
Also at the Ambo, in the Scriptures, we make special responses and gestures to remind us that before the Bible we are on Holy Ground. Symbolically we remove our sandals like Moses before the burning bush so that we are ready to listen to the Holy God speaking to us through the Scriptures.
Also, when we are gathered with an assembly of believers as we are now, we should recognize that we are on Holy Ground. For Jesus says that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is in their midst. We should recognize the body of Christ here in this mixed group of people gathered to worship. Though we do not remove our sandals, we should recognize that when we are gathered with the church, we are on Holy Ground.
So, as Catholics we should be familiar with the experience of being in the presence of the Holy God, of standing on Holy Ground. The burning bush experience of Moses is a spiritual experience that is also possible for us.
In our Gospel today, Jesus is very clear about our need to repent, saying “unless you repent you will perish as they did.” One way we repent is to symbolically “remove our sandals,” in order to recognize that we are on Holy Ground. Not just in a church, but in each moment and each encounter of our daily lives. Here are some places we need to recognize that we are on Holy Ground.
In our home and with our family. We should treat our home and family as Holy Ground. We speak of the Domestic Church. Imagine what a difference it would we make if we treated our home and family as Holy Ground. Next time at home and with your family, in your heart simply say, “ I am on Holy Ground.”
In fact, each person we meet during the day is an opportunity to encounter the Holy God. What a difference, if we symbolically removed our sandals before each person we met during the day. Would it not change the way we speak to that person, the way we listen to that person, the way we treat that person? Next person you are about to meet, in your heart simply say, “I am on Holy Ground.”
I have often been with people as they were approaching their death. Some ask me if this is difficult. I guess in a certain way it is difficult. But, when we think about it, being with someone as they approach their death, is like being on Holy Ground. The final moments before death is truly a holy moment, as someone comes to the end of this life and moves on to the full encounter with the living God.
Next time you are with a family member or friend who is nearing death, pray silently saying, “I am on Holy Ground.” Also when we are with someone who is grieving, this too is Holy Ground. When you are with someone grieving and do not know what to say or do, simply say in your heart, “I am on Holy Ground.”
A final moment of Holy Ground I want to mention, is when we are sharing a meal with family or friends. We often say Grace to help us recognize the holiness of a shared meal. But, next time you are sharing a meal with family or friends, say simply and quietly in your heart, “I am on Holy Ground.”
During this Lent, embrace the call of Jesus to repent. One way is to recognize when you are on Holy Ground. Make that simple prayer often, “I am on Holy Ground.” Symbolically remove your sandals like Moses before the burning bush. Before each encounter with a person, at home with family, when sharing meals, when here to celebrate the Mass, when getting ready to pray or read the Scriptures, when the spring sun is shining on your face, simply pray in your heart, “I am on Holy Ground.” Then pay attention to how that changes how you are in those moments.
Where Is God?
3rd Sunday of Lent
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: March 20, 2022
Funny story that I have heard before. A couple has two mischievous boys, ages 8 and 10, who were always into trouble, both at home and around town. The mother of the boys heard that a local priest had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her two boys. The priest agreed and asked to see them individually.
The 8 year old went first, in the morning. The older boy was to see the priest in the afternoon. The priest, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, “Where is God?”
The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response. The priest repeated the question, “Where is God?” Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. So, the priest raised his voice some more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, “Where is God?”
The boy screamed and bolted from the room. He ran home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his brother found him in the closet, he asked “What happened?” The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, “We are in real Big trouble this time! God is missing, and they think we did it!
Where is God???
Our basic Catholic catechism would say, “God is everywhere.” For God is infinite spirit, not something in the universe, rather God embraces the entire universe. So, we can say that God is everywhere.
But, people are more likely asking a slightly different question. Where can I find God?
What advice or suggestion would you give someone who was asking, where can I find God?
We just heard the story of Moses encountering God in the burning bush. God calls him closer but tells him to remove his sandals from his feet for he was standing on holy ground. He experienced the transcendence of God, that he was on holy ground, this required that he show deep reverence. When Moses asks God by what name he is called, God’s response is “I am who I am.” God has no name since God is beyond our control, remains a mystery to us. Where do we experience holy ground, where do we experience the holy one calling us to deep reverence?
In the Incarnation, God took on flesh and blood, came as one of us. In Jesus, it is revealed that each human being is holy ground. If we are to find God, we need to be able to recognize the image of God through our fellow human beings. It is for this reason that St. John Paul II in an encyclical once defined Christianity in this way, “Christianity is an attitude of amazement at the dignity of the human being.” Jesus reveals the deep mystery and dignity of the human being.
In the Gospel today, a crowd comes to Jesus and are wondering about a group of Galileans who were killed in a brutal way by Pilate and about another group who died when the Tower of Siloam fell on them. Jesus is clear that they were not any worse than others, not greater sinners than the others.
Our human tendency is to see God as a God of vengeance, wanting to punish human beings, ready to condemn. When bad things happen in this life we wonder if it is punishment from God, if we deserved some bad thing that happened to us. Jesus rejects this as a false vision of God.
When bad things happen to us or others, we do not see that as punishment from God. God does not desire to punish, to condemn, to harm us. God is like the gardener who asks for more time, wants to work on the ground to help the tree to produce fruit. It is the merciful patience of God.
Moses took his sandals off at the burning bush, for he was on holy ground. We should symbolically take our shoes off in the presence of one another, for in the presence of another human being, we are on holy ground. We should treat each human being as holy, with care and reverence. Including yourself. Fundamental to our Christian faith is the dignity of the human being. This approach should guide how we see everything in our life, including our politics, our economic views, our way of seeing all that is happening in our society and world.
If we truly saw the dignity of each human being, if we treated each human being as holy ground, how would we see the following issues today? Capital Punishment, our prison systems, abortion, what type of economy we promote, poverty. As we watch what is happening in the Ukraine, the refugees, those facing bombs and violence, does this reflect the dignity of human beings, does it see them as holy ground?
Where is God? God is everywhere. Where will I find God? Only when I recognize that I am on holy ground before each human being I face.
Before each person you encounter, you should hear God speaking to you, “remove your sandals from your feet, for you are on holy ground.” We will only find God if we are able to recognize holy ground before our fellow human beings.