Every morning as I head down to the church for Lauds (6:30 AM) and Mass (approx. 6:45 AM), I am always comforted by the sight of shoes scattered at the Narthex entranceway to the Sanctuary.
The practice of removing our shoes has become a weekday ‘custom’ here in response to Exodus 3:5 “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” St. Laurence House in Freetown, Sierra Leone also follows this tradition and removes their shoes before entering.
When I come upon the shoes each morning I am reminded that I am entering a Holy Place, a Holy time in my day. I also think of Sierra Leone and the hundreds of shoes scattered outside the mosques. I think of those kind souls, struggling to find their next meal but taking the time to worship, pray & give thanks throughout the day. At 6:30 AM in the morning, we don’t have hundreds of shoes piled up in the Narthex doorway here in Louisville, KY – but it is comforting to know that there are but a few. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20. I fling off my shoes and hurry in to meet those already in the chapel. My day begins…
