This Holy Place

When you set apart a place in your heart and in your home for God, you start the process of reclaiming this world for God. Be Holy!

Mar 23, 2026

The concept of “holy space” takes a beating in our modern society, which values egalitarianism over hierarchy.

But without one place being set aside as “holy,” we lose the ability to see the “holy” in every place!

Today is Monday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. Yesterday was the Sunday of St. John Climacus, author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, which guides us in our spiritual climb toward God. Since we are in the second half of Great Lent, the Church invites us to examine our internal and external "space" to see whether we are making room for God in our daily lives.

Today’s Lesson: Genesis 13:12-18

Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.
The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Notice please this last verse: “So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD.”

Interestingly, it is at this sacred spot near the Oaks of Mamre that Abraham and his wife will show hospitality to “three angels” that will become for us an icon of the Holy Trinity.

It is this “encounter” at the Oaks of Mamre that will forever change the lives of all the faithful and will reinforce God’s gracious revelation of Himself to His creation. Talk about sacred space!

Notice how Abram (soon to be renamed “Abraham”) makes this spot special: he builds an altar to the Lord and worships. He makes the spot special. He makes the place “holy.”

What Can We Take From This?

First, “holy” means set apart for a specific use, reclaiming creation for its true purpose.

“So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD.”

That word “holy” is so misunderstood. For too many of us, when we think of the word “holy,” we almost have a “magical” idea about it. If something is “holy,” we imagine it has “mystical” powers or is somehow something “different” than “normal” things.

This is a weakness that turns the word “holy” into something entirely different from what it really is.

But “Holy” literally means “set apart for a specific use.” If something is “holy,” then it is used only for one, singular, focused, purposeful use, and for nothing else.

So, a church building is “holy” because it is used only for worshiping God.

A chalice is “holy” because it is used only to hold the precious Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist.

And you are “holy” when you reserve your life for God alone and live only for His purpose in your life. You are “holy” when you reserve your love, your devotion, your time, talents, and treasures for God alone.

It is single-mindedness that makes holiness. It is an exclusive devotion that creates a sacred space. Focused attentiveness makes holiness possible.

The discipline of creating a “holy space” inside your heart and outside in your daily world is all about reclaiming God’s good creation for its true meaning and purpose. Abram built an altar. He set apart that place for worshiping God. He reclaimed that space for its holy purpose.

Are you reclaiming space in your life for God? Or is everything just “multi-use” with no holy purpose?

Next, making one specific space holy allows every place to become holy.

“For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever.”

Here’s the key: God gives Abram all the land. But Abram doesn’t try to make all the land holy at once. He makes one specific place holy. He builds one altar at the Oaks of Mamre.

And from that one holy space, holiness can spread to all places.

As an aside, this is why we Orthodox don’t have “multi-use” space for our worship and Divine Liturgy. No, our worship space is exclusively used for that purpose. And the reason for this exclusivity is that we understand that, when we worship, we do so “for the life of the world.”

We make one, specific, space holy so that every place can become holy!

This is what Great Lent teaches. Make one space holy in your heart. Set apart one time for prayer each day. Reserve one corner of your home for icons and prayer. Build one altar in your life.

And from that one holy space, holiness spreads. Your whole heart becomes holy. Your whole day becomes prayer. Your whole home becomes a temple. Your whole life becomes worship.

But it starts with making one specific place holy through exclusive devotion and single-minded focus. Just as a little yeast works its way through the dough, so one holy space, both inside and outside, starts the process of reclaiming everything for God.

Are you making one specific space holy? Or trying to make everything holy all at once and ending up with nothing holy?

Next, examining your internal and external space during Lent reveals where you’re making room for God.

“Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward.”

Notice: God tells Abram to lift up his eyes and look. To examine the space around him. To see what’s there. To take inventory of the land.

This is what the second half of Great Lent is for. Examining your internal and external “space” to see if you are making a place for God in your daily lives.

Where are the holy places in your life? Where are the holy places in your heart, your home, your family, and your community?

Are you “keeping” them holy, or is the holiness of this or that place merely some distant memory kept alive by weak nostalgia?

Lift up your eyes and look. Examine your internal space. Is there a holy place in your heart reserved for God alone? Or has it become multi-use, crowded with worries, distractions, passions?

Examine your external space. Is there a holy place in your home reserved for prayer? Or has the icon corner become a place to pile mail and keys?

Get actively involved in being honest about your spiritual life!

Make a space holy in your home, your heart, your community, and then “keep” it holy by focusing your devotion and your purposeful love in remembering the “holy” purpose for which that space exists.

Are you examining your space during the second half of Great Lent? Or are you avoiding the hard work of seeing where God has no room in your life?

The Holy Righteous Martyr Nikon and His 199 Disciples

Today we commemorate the Holy Righteous Martyr Nikon and his 199 disciples, who were martyred in Sicily around 251 AD during the persecution under Emperor Decius. St. Nikon was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and gathered many disciples. When they were arrested for their faith, they were tortured and eventually beheaded.

St. Nikon and his disciples understood what Genesis teaches in today’s passage. They made their hearts holy spaces reserved for God alone. They set apart their lives for one purpose: serving Christ. They kept these holy spaces pure even unto death.

They didn’t try to serve both Christ and Caesar. They made one specific space holy, their hearts for God alone. And from that holy space, holiness spread to 199 disciples who also gave their lives rather than profane the holy space they had created within.

That’s Normal Orthodoxy. Making a specific space holy by setting it apart for God alone. Understanding that one holy space allows every place to become holy.

Your Response Today

Today is Monday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. You’re in the second half of the journey. The Church is inviting you to examine your internal and external “space.”

Where are the holy places in your life? Where are the holy places in your heart, your home, your family, your community?

Stop treating everything as multi-use. Stop trying to make your whole life holy all at once without first making one specific space holy.

Build an altar like Abram did. Make one corner of your home a holy space for prayer. Set apart one time each day for God alone. Reserve one place in your heart exclusively for worship.

And keep it holy. Don’t let it become cluttered. Don’t let it become just another space where you pile distractions. Don’t let the holiness become just a distant memory kept alive by weak nostalgia.

Focus your devotion. Practice single-minded love. Maintain exclusive dedication to that one holy space.

Because setting a specific place as holy in your life, as sacred, as special, also keeps the chance alive that all places in your life can become holy as well.

The discipline of creating a “holy space” inside your heart and outside in your daily world is all about reclaiming God’s good creation for its true meaning and purpose.

Being Orthodox on Purpose means making specific space holy by setting it apart for God alone, understanding that one holy space allows every place to become holy, and examining your internal and external space during Great Lent to see where you’re making room for God!

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?