Reflection for August 29

Prayers linger in choir stalls, soak into walls. Centuries of prayer can make you feel buoyant in medieval European cathedrals. Gratitude settles over you like a benediction within busy urban shrines. When you can’t pray, you can go to a place consecrated for prayers and let the residue of others’ prayers carry you effortlessly, wordlessly into a state of prayer (Suzanne Guthrie, “Prayer-haunted,” Christian Century, August 24, 2010).