A Place To Pray

I pray here, there and everywhere. I pray in bed staring up at the ceiling. I pray at 2 a.m., looking at the blue numbers on the digital clock. I pray in the carpool lane, especially on rainy days. Tears on my windshield washing it clean away. The cobwebs, the disappointments, the fears.

Thank God for rain.

I like to go to this grotto and pray. I go there when the sky is blue and when it rains and when it snows. I go at sunset and sunrise and at lunchtime. I go alone and I never see anybody, but there are always candles burning so I know someone has come and gone.

Do they see me coming? He sees me coming, seeking Him. It’s my favorite place to pray.

 

The grotto includes a prayer garden and 12 of the 14 Stations of the Cross. It is the perfect place to pray during Holy Week or any week. To meditate upon the Via Dolorosa — The Way of Suffering.

The grotto and garden are located just west of the circle drive at Mount St. Mary High School. It’s at the end of SW 27th Street (going east) where Shartel Avenue curves in a half circle. If you live in Oklahoma City and you’re a person of faith, you should visit it sometime. Nobody will be there to bother you, and although the school is located on private property there are no gates to keep you out of the garden.

I like to go at sunset, especially on the weekends. I stop at the grocery store on my way and get one of the cheap candles in the tall glass canisters. They feature pictures of Jesus and Mary, and sometimes, disciples. Don’t forget to take some matches. Light your candle and say a prayer for the troubled hearts of the world. Don’t blow it out when you leave. Let it keep on burning like a prayer that keeps going up to heaven.

Every time I go, I always find a candle burning. It means so much, and I feel the presence of the people who were there before. I think of them while I’m there and I pray that all their prayers are answered, too, in accordance with God’s will.

If you need a special place to pray this Easter, visit this grotto, visit the stations of the cross, the way of suffering.