I pray online using sacredspace.ie   The thought for the week, while not about wisdom, is about being open and welcoming to God, rather like the imagery we shared yesterday. I'll post a summary of our thoughts later today. Blessings, Jen

Tourists in Barcelona like to visit the unfinished cathedral, La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family), now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Antoni Gaudi began work on it in 1883, but at his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Gaudi took this matter philosophically when he remarked shortly before his death: ‘My Client is not in a hurry.’ Other architects have played their part since then. Their efforts of course have sometimes been criticised by their colleagues. Mid-point in construction of this extraordinary work was reached in 2010, and completion is planned perhaps for the centenary of the architect’s death.
This remarkable undertaking has much to teach us. Firstly, Gaudi is right about God’s leisurely style! God seems not to be in a hurry about a completion date for the epic that is world history. But like the cathedral, enough of the divine design is available to enable us to have some image of the final masterpiece. Secondly, whereas only approved architects are allowed to leave their mark on the cathedral in Barcelona, each of us - every inhabitant of this planet, every member of the Sacred Space community – is invited to contribute to the shaping of God’s project for humankind. Strangely God trusts us not to make a total mess of it!
Thirdly, to an outsider – and to many insiders also - Christian belief can seem an enormous jumble of disconnected facts, rather like the rocks on the building site in Barcelona. It helps to know that the keyword to Christian faith is relationships! God wants to be in an intimate relationship with us, And works hard at it.The concept of relationships offers a dynamic viewpoint which illuminates every aspect of Christian life. As the poet Hopkins says: ‘I greet him the days I meet him, and bless when I understand.’