CSVF Blog

Below is a brief meditation written by Br. James Brent, OP, a student brother who recently spent a few days here at St. Vincent Ferrer.  Like many who visit the parish, Br. James discovered several mysteries hidden in the church’s side chapels.  

It had been a couple of years since I last visited the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer. I had forgotten the many riches that are to be found within those walls. While slowly strolling around the side chapels I was confronted again with the large crucifix in the Holy Name Chapel. The old fashioned prayer at the foot of that cross implores the Crucified One to impress upon our hearts lively sentiments of faith, hope, and love. A few feet away I found again the statue of the Sacred Heart. The old fashioned prayer at the base of the Sacred Heart asks that divine charity would radiate throughout one’s whole being – even through all of one’s senses and all one’s faculties. Sometimes, I am struck by the depth and power of those old fashioned prayers.

For what if there was one more person in this world whose whole being really was irradiated by divine charity? How different would life be if one lived with lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity?

There are mysteries in the side chapels of St. Vincent Ferrer. My urban pilgrimage from one chapel to the next opened my eyes to see something that the city outside tends to conceal. But it is best to go and see for oneself what that is.

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