Holy Week - Liminal Space

Holy Week – Liminal Space
This weekend I spoke of the notion of Liminal space as it applies to Holy Week. Holy Week is the most important week of the Christian year. This year it runs from Palm Sunday March 28 to EASTER Sandy April 4.

We must not underestimate the importance of this greatest week of the Christian church year – the week we call “Holy Week”

In the jargon of anthropologists this is called “Liminal space” or “Liminal time”.


"Limina" is the Latin word for threshold, the space betwixt and between. Liminal space, therefore, is a unique spiritual position where human beings hate to be but where the biblical God is always leading us”. Father Richard Rohr


It is a time of uprooting from ruts in or lives, a time to reassess and put down new roots and deepen our commitment.

This can happen through choice as when we go on a retreat – a time of silence away – or of marriage counseling or some other kind of course ling.

It can be a time not of our own choosing as when we fall ill, experience death, job lose or moving.

Even when it happens by choice we need to know that once we have entered into the “Liminal space” we give over control to the spirit moving in our lives.

On a retreat we may go to deepen our faith and half way through have the sense we have lost our faith before we emerge to new faith. In course ling you may – not necessarily wonder at some point if you will ever had or will have a mature relationship with anyone. Orientation, disorientation, new orientation.

Such is Holy Week, but as with a retreat or marriage counseling we have to enter into this time with real earnest.

Goggle Liminal space Richard Rohr for some interesting articles by Father Richard Rohr.

Father Leo