There is a quiet place I know where nature sings to me the music of the mountains and the forest and the sea. It is not far away, and yet it sometimes seems a place removed from daily life, a distant dream of time and space. I have been lost in city streets, in traffic fast and loud, where sirens scream and nature’s voice is drowned out by the crowd. And so I go to seek that place where I become a part of nature’s song–that quiet place I’ve found within my heart.
Experience proves that there is a power in holy places, power to quicken the spiritual life and vitalize the soul with fresh enthusiasm and inspiration. While strong spiritual emotions have been felt for long periods of time by successive generations of dedicated men and women -- especially if they have had among them those who may be reckoned as saints because of their genius for devotion -- the mental atmosphere of the place becomes imbued with spiritual forces, and sensitive souls capable of response are deeply stirred thereby when they come into it.