Elizabeth Pangerl, OblSB
Change is the one constant we share; every person we meet is standing at a threshold. Recently, I joined six women at The Benedictine Center for a retreat facilitated by Tod Twist, spiritual director and facilities manager. We gathered to explore liminal spaces—those “in-between” moments where we have left one shore but not yet touched the next.
A Different Kind of Sacred Space
While many of us are frequent visitors to the Monastery, this weekend felt distinct. We formed a small, temporary community in a light-filled room on the second floor. Our sessions were uniquely punctuated by our anserine neighbors—geese roaming the roof garden, peering through the glass to serenade our morning.
This wasn’t a series of lectures. Instead, Tod—who knows the Monastery’s physical and spiritual corners intimately—invited us into guided conversation. We leaned into the discomfort and beauty of the “threshold,” finding a rhythm of peace woven together by fresh air, shared meals, and prayer with the Sisters.
The Two Halves of Life
Using Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward as our compass, we explored the two spiritual halves of life:
The First Half: Building the “container” of identity, career, and ego.
The Second Half: Shifting from performance to presence, finding meaning beyond the container.
Rohr suggests that this transition is inherently liminal. When old identities feel like they are collapsing, we aren’t failing; we are actually “falling upward” into a more expansive way of being.
Holding Space Together
Whether walking the labyrinth or sitting in our circle, we held space for stories of retirement, shifting health, and grief. We discovered that while the threshold can feel lonely, we don’t have to cross it alone. In the silence of the Monastery, we were reminded that the “middle space” is not a void to be endured, but sacred ground where the soul does its most vital work.
