Faith: Find your holy place this summer, whether a building or in nature

Judy Knotts
·3 min read
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Three people pray as they touch a part of the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Your holy place doesn't have to be world-renowned.
Three people pray as they touch a part of the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Your holy place doesn't have to be world-renowned.

Holy — a word of many meanings and uses: holy day, holy war, holy Bible, holy ground and holy cow (humorous). A synonym commonly used is sacred.

People often journey to holy places to learn, to be inspired and to connect with their roots.

Summer is a popular time to travel due to school holidays. Since COVID has become less of a threat in 2023, people are on the road, on the rails and in the air to visit holy places. Maybe you’ve been to holy places or dream of doing so in the future.

In March 23, 2023, Trip.com lists “The World’s Top 9 Most Important Holy Places and Religious Sites:

  • Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome (Catholicism)

  • Western Wall, Jerusalem (Judaism)

  • Great Mosque of Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Islam)

  • Shrine of Bahá u’lláh, Acre, Israel (Bahá’ í Faith)

  • Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem (Christianity)

  • Kashi Vishwanath Temple, India (Hinduism)

  • Golden Temple, Amritsar, India (Sikhism)

  • Ise Grand Shrine, Ise, Japan (Shintoism)

  • Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, India (Buddhism)

Trip. com, a travel agency of note, adds an important qualifier, “Though necessarily incomplete, these locations are intangible cultural treasures. These are nine of the most important religious sites on Earth.” Of course, there are lists from other travel experts and historical, geographical and educational organizations, but this is a good place to start.

Closer to home, MapQuest identifies 10 Most Sacred Sites in the United States. Adding, “In the multicultural melting pot of the United States, there are places of impossible beauty that are undeniably sacred, no matter what your religious background is. These sites will instill a feeling of awe at being in the presence of a higher power.”

Their list:

  • Sakya Monastery, Seattle, Washington

  • Cahokia Mounds, St. Louis, Missouri

  • Unity Temple, Chicago, Illinois

  • Crater Lake, Medford, Oregon

  • The Islamic Center, Washington, D.C.

  • Mount Shasta, Mt. Shasta, California

  • Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Devil’s Tower, Crook County, Wyoming

  • Touro Synagogue, Newport, Rhode Island

  • Bighorn Medicine Wheel, Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming

You can see by this list, and others, that holy places often refer to a mosque, shrine, house of worship, temple, pagoda, basilica or cathedral. Oxford Dictionary first defines holy as an adjective “dedicated or consecrated to God for a religious purpose; sacred.”

Merriam-Webster first definition of holy is “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.” So, I’m going with Merriam-Webster at this point. Most of us can agree on Oxford’s definition, a holy place is consecrated to God. But, let’s consider other holy places that make us whole, make us worthy of each other and make our world better.

My list of other holy places include:

  • Bee hives.

  • Food banks, soup kitchens, choir practice spaces, concert halls.

  • First grade classrooms where children learn that letters make up words.

  • Facilities that hire second chance applicants, apprentice workshops.

  • Bakeries.

  • Forests, woodlands, libraries, community gardens, waterfalls.

  • Legal aid offices, plant nurseries, tree farms, vineyards, writing nooks.

  • Senior activity spots, city parks, delivery rooms, fire stations, playgrounds.

  • Apple orchards.

  • And, tutoring rooms in schools staffed by peers and professionals.

  • Houses build by Habitat, shelters for unhoused people.

  • Youth centers, EMS vehicles, art museums, hospices, book stores.

  • Veterinary clinics.

  • Equine stables with therapeutic programs, pediatric wards.

  • Respite care sites for family caregivers, museums with free passes

  • Healing places for grief and loss, art and music studios.

  • Alcoholics Anonymous meeting locations.

  • Animal rescue sites, ponds that freeze solid for ice skating.

  • Chaplains’ offices in hospitals and prisons, bandshells.

  • Airport chapels, free pools and splash pads, hiking trails.

  • Some churches.

Judy Knotts is a parishioner of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, and former head of St. Gabriel's Catholic School and St. Michael's Catholic Academy. Her book, "You Are My Brother," is a collection of past American-Statesman faith columns.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Faith: Find your holy place this summer