Contemplative Prayer and Sacred Space
This is why entering in a sacred place is always possible no matter where we are or what is going on around us. Calamity may be crashing down and sudden catastrophe strike when least expected. Believing in God’s love, however, sets our lives above the exigency of the moment. His love is more surprising than any unexpected trial. And such divine surprises never leave us in anxiety or rage, but always lead into hope. A simple act of faith brings us into this deepest center, this hidden peak of existence, this secret garden, this wine cellar, this Bosom of the Father – where the Great High Priest is.
Through the centuries, the way Catholics have expressed this faith is by making the sign of the Cross. Indeed, it is through the Cross that one has faith and it is through the Cross that one enters into a sacred place. By the Sign of the Cross, our bodies declare that what is invisible and spiritual is greater than what appears and is merely material. By the Sign of the Cross, the heights and depths and horizons of our own personal existence are brought under the shadow of the Risen Lord – His love becomes the standard, the banner, and the seal of the heart. In that sacred place, His words resound:
“Father, I will that where I am, those whom you have given me might also be with me in order that they might see the glory that you have given me because you have loved me from before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24
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