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Church, provided they drink from
authentic wellspnings of e. Concern for ecciesial communion
is a sign of true
2690 The Holy Spirit gives to certain of
the faithful the gifts of wisdom, faith and discernment for
the sake of this common good which is prayer (spiritual
direction). Men and women so endowed are true servants of
the living tradition of prayer.
According to StJohn of the Cross, the person wishing to
advance toward perfection should ‘take care into whose
hands he entrusts himself, for as the master is, so will the
disciple be, and as the father is so will be the son.’
And further: ‘In addition to being learned and discreet
a director should be experienced... If the spiritual
director has no experience of the spiritual life, he will be
incapable of leading into it the souls whom God is calling
to it, and he will not even understand them.’47 Places favourable for prayer 2691 The church, the house of God, is the proper
place for the ii8i liturgical prayer of the parish
community. It is also the privileged place for adoration of
the real presence of Christ in the Blessed 2179
Sacrament. The choice of a favourable place is not a matter
of 1379 indifference for true prayer.
— For personal prayer, this can be a ‘prayer
corner’ with the sacred Scriptures and icons, in order
to be there, in secret, before our Father.~8 In a Christian
family, this kind of little oratory fosters prayer in
common. — In regions where
monasteries exist, the vocation of these communities is to
further the participation of the faithful in the Liturgy of
the Hours and to 1175 provide necessary solitude for
more intense personal prayer.49
— Pilgrimages evoke our earthly journey toward heaven
and are traditionally 1674 very special occasions for
renewal in prayer. For pilgrims seeking living water,
shrines are special places for living the forms of e
‘in Church’. 2692 In prayer, the pilgrim Church is associated with that of the saints, whose intercession she asks. 2693 The d~fferent schools of Christian
spirituality share in the living tradition of prayer and
are precious guides for the spiritual l~fe.
2694 The Christian family is the first place for
education in prayer. |
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