A website, founded by an Irish province, has been helping the faithful of different lifestyles in their daily prayer and reflection, and has grown into a source of support and comfort for faithful worldwide.
Jesuit Father Piaras Jackson, director of the site ‘Sacred Space’ (www.sacredspace.ie), said despite the website’s growth, its goal remains the same: «To help people in their daily prayer and reflection, offering a prayer a day” and to “provide resources to support people in a Christian life fruit of reflection,” according to a June 4 article in L’Osservatore Romano.
The site, which is available in 20 languages, “will appeal to all people of good will and is used by Christians all over the world,» Father Jackson said.
He added that it can be utilized no matter what the user’s lifestyle may be, adding that people can use it in a “manner adaptable the different situations in which one finds himself. Whether it’s tablets or low-cost phones, daily prayer is offered [that is] coherent, effective and free.”
After starting as a Lenten initiative, it became clear the site had long-lasting value, shown by the addition of other languages that were added by the translators in the various countries and by the fact that its online presence had its 15th anniversary this year, he stated.
The operation of the portal is very simple, Father Jackson said, and for users to recharge their spiritual batteries, it doesn’t take long, as the site’s users spend an average of four and a half minutes on the sight.
He added that the website now has grown into a network of people around the world that use a single system to publish in multiple languages. Translations are produced in different countries by the Jesuits and their colleagues, and at other times, lay people likewise contribute, sometimes working separately, but “combining efforts online.»
Father Jackson is convinced that “sites like ours carry salt to the internet.” Those who use the site understand that the message of the Gospel is what is important, he added.
“People tell us how important it is to know they are not alone: every hour of the day over 650 people join in prayer,” he said. (D.C.L.)
