Sacred cyberspace

One of my favorite things about growing up Catholic was lighting candles. I'd bend my legs to rest on a kneeler in a dark alcove, plunk a few coins in a metal box, light a wick (preferaby in a red votive), and say a little prayer for someone in need. Sometimes, I even lit a candle for myself. 

These days I love to light candles in a sacred cyberspace created by a Benedictine monk at gratefulness.org. The candles feature takes you gently through a few steps, encouraging you to quiet your thoughts and reflect. You can even let someone know you've lit a candle for them. And it "burns" for 48 hours in a lovely virtual grotto, filled with a sense of peace.

As I post this, 7,166,771 candles have been lit from 242 countries, including 15,243 candles in the last 2 days. Reading some of the prayers that go with the candles will truly make you feel grateful.

Do you know anyone who could use a candle right now?

Maybe even you?

Photo credit: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.