AN INTRODUCTORY WORD

As the holiday season approaches, the Sacred Space team will be scattering for a time. I, myself, will be away for the month of July. I am looking forward to some parish work at St. Patrick’s, Glen Cove, New York. I am hoping to send you this, “the latest from Sacred Space”, before I leave.

As has been noted by some of you, the number of visitors to our site since it was launched on Ash Wednesday 1999, has recently crossed the 4 million mark. One person commented on that event in this way: Today, the feast of the Sacred Heart on the Pacific Coast of the United States, the number is about to show 4 million hits. I think of Sacred Space as such a private place to pray, a chapel really, but sometimes the numbers remind me that this chapel is full of people, all so very silent in their prayer, all over the world and yet holding each other in prayer.

From Australia, another regular visitor wrote: When I first discovered your site, on August 5, 2001, the Feedback pages held messages of congratulation on “passing the 2 million mark”. Since then, another 2 million souls have logged on…..You help so many people, and you work so hard to do this every day….I hate to miss one day of prayer and wonder at sacredspace.ie. You are better than the World Cup!

God has blessed us abundantly not only in the number of visitors, but also in the messages that we have received each day from so many parts of the world, and from diverse backgrounds. Many simply say thanks for the help that they have experienced in their spiritual lives through Sacred Space. They assure us, too, of their prayers that we may have all the help we need to continue this prayer ministry.

Here is an example from Johannesburg, South Africa: I am so delighted to have found your sacred site. During the busyness which surrounds me in a fairly large office I am able to enter the silence for a short while and return to my world refreshed and peaceful. Thank you for the site. I shall certainly tell friends and fellow parishioners (Anglican) about you.

Alan McGuckian SJ, director of the Jesuit Communication Centre here in Dublin, and a key figure in the creation and development of Sacred Space will fill you in on some changes that we make this summer. Since Róisín Pye, who also has had a significant role in the growth and development of the website, will, sadly, be leaving us in August to face new challenges, I have asked her to share some thoughts on this occasion.

I hope you enjoy this issue. You may wish to forward it to internet friends, who may not yet have corresponded with us and, consequently, are not on our mailing list. Please continue to remember us in your prayers. God bless,

Gerard J. Bourke, S.J.

A MESSAGE FROM ALAN
It is over three years since we started Sacred Space, and watching the network of faith and prayer grow and spread has been an extraordinary blessing for all of us. This summer is a time of change and, hopefully, further development.

Róisín Pye has been with us for the past three years as web director. As well as faithfully tending the English and Gaelic versions from day to day, it is she who has helped all the other languages get started. That, and much, much more. She has been a wonderful colleague and we will miss her very much.

David Birchall SJ is also moving on, back to Britain after a two-year stint. A regular sound in our main office has been, “David, will you come and look at my computer; there seems to be something wrong….” He always came, and was immensely helpful, and not just with wayward computers! We wish him well!

As well as producing Sacred Space, our office has a range of other projects. The latest is a Catholic Portal site, www.catholicireland.net . It will be a huge task over the next few years. If you haven’t looked at it yet, please check it out.

All the Churches in Ireland are preparing to benefit from a huge advertising campaign in September of this year. It is called Power to Change. For 4 weeks, over 1.25 million Euro will be spent in Ireland, promoting the Christian way of life. We are co-operating with Power to Change, encouraging parishes and prayer groups to get involved.

We have a lot of projects in hand. Thank God, things are prospering now. We need your continued support to keep things going, and, hopefully, growing. As well as your prayers, we would very much appreciate your financial help. You can give this support either online, at www.jesuit.ie/prayer/support.htm , or by sending a cheque to Sacred Space, 36 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Thank you and God bless you,

Alan McGuckian

RÓISÍN’S FAREWELL

I joined the Jesuit Communication Centre with a degree in philosophy and theology, and not much computer or web experience. I guess in true Irish fashion, I could be called a “chancer”, willing to try anything and hopefully succeed! Over the three years, with much patience from my mentor Peter Scally and good direction from Alan, I have helped keep Sacred Space running smoothly, doing various jobs from answering a lot of feedback early on to more technical areas of the site administration as time went by. And of course, clarifying my identity when the odd email came in to Fr Roisin, explaining that I’m a lay woman working for the Jesuits Despite joining the team with a bit of theology under my belt, I had much to learn about Ignatian spirituality (and I’m no expert yet). Of course there’s also working with the Jesuits, which I could now talk about for hours!

Now its time to test the travelling bug and Italy calls, for a year anyway, to learn the language and soak up the art and culture. And then I’ll do some more study in theology, perhaps in Rome, possibly in the States; that is yet to be decided. It has been a really interesting job, rather unique, and I’ve really enjoyed being part of a prayer initiative that has touched the lives of so many people. It is humbling sometimes to read the messages that pour in, and realise that I have played a part in someone’s spiritual experience, just through a website!

Thank you all for sharing those thoughts with us, as they continue to be a vital part in the life of the site. I finish up here mid-August – I’m writing my farewell rather early – and I thank you for your support all along, and thanks to the team too. They’re all great, and Sacred Space will be in safe hands even without me there! Of course it’s not really goodbye, as I can log on and pray wherever I am, whether it be in English or Italian. So until then, arrivederci!

Róisín Pye

NEW VERSIONS OF SACRED SPACE

New versions of Sacred Space are ever on the increase, thanks to the co-operation of so many good people from around the world. As you might have noticed, Sacred Space has been available for some time now in twelve different languages. By the time this reaches you, we hope to have a thirteenth version. There have been many requests from different parts of the world for Sacred Space in French. On June 28th, thanks to the hard work of Bertrand Baudoin in Quebec, Canada, the French version will be launched.

Montse Girbau, webmaster for the Catalan Jesuits, has the Catalan version up and running, as was promised in our last issue. Marzena Frolow, with her Christian Life Community and the Jesuits in Krakow, has done the same for the Polish version. The German and Chinese versions are in the pipeline and we hope they will be ready soon.

The version for young people, sponsored by Youth Front in Kansas City, which was also mentioned in the last edition of Latest Space, has been launched and can be found at www.sacredgateway.org . You might like to check it out, and perhaps recommend it to younger folk.

Thanks for your continued support, and that’s all for now. God bless,

Alan, Róisín and Gerry