Why Sojourned Sacrarium?

For far too long I have needed a place to share my thoughts. I have never wanted a large audience, a loud platform, or the responsibility of leading any sort of group or community. I have zero desire to be 'followed' by anyone, honestly.

What long for is to explore the depths of my own heart and mind alongside others—safely.

That word “safely” matters. Several years ago, I broke open my own alabaster jar and chose to pour it out. In that offering I discovered how dangerous it can be to love without condition, to risk being truly seen, and to share what is most personal—believing others will revere the gift for what it is, rather than squander or trample it.

Incredibly naive, a gift intended to provide permanent refuge to people in need became an opportunity for my heart and mind to be used as something that held no value, and treated as completely disposable.

Now I am rebuilding.

“He breathes through her flowering garden… and discloses this interior treasure… the fragrant scent each one with its own characteristics gives to her is inestimable. Sometimes the fragrance is so abundant that it seems to the soul she is clothed with delight and bathed in inestimable glory… and those capable of recognizing it are aware of her experience.”

— St. John of the Cross (on experiencing being given insight by the Holy Spirit)

What is a Sacrarium?

The word sacrarium comes from the Latin sacer—sacred. It carries two quiet but powerful meanings:

• The sanctuary itself—the holy space surrounding an altar, preserving what is set apart.

• The special drain or piscina in the sacristy: a dedicated basin where water that has touched consecrated vessels, altar linens, or holy remnants is poured out. It returns directly to the earth with reverence, never mixed with ordinary waste.

  
  

I considered what I wanted this space—and my own life—to become, I kept seeing a jar within the human form, holding something precious. Call it a inner sanctuary, sacrarium, alabaster jar, regardless, the principles remain the same. In pondering these things this familiar verse took on new depth:

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Imagine the human body as a microcosm of the Earth.

Imagine the spirit body as its inner person, which finds shelter within the human form.

Now, imagine the sacrarium as the sacred channel that both holds all things and flows between them. This channel maintains the living field in which the spirit finds a home away from Home during her sojourn here.

It cleanses.

It restores.

It keeps her very own, self-created heaven and earth connected.

Both body and spirit are responsible for how clearly and reliably this channel and its chalice function. The more I sit with it, the more I wonder whether the sacrarium, in this personal sense, might be the mind itself—the hidden basin and conduit where what is holy is received, held, purified, and eventually released back to the ground of all being.

The Inner Architecture

In the original Greek, Paul chooses his words with surgical precision:

ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τὸ σῶμα ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν ἁγίου πνεύματός ἐστιν...

• σῶμα (sōma) — the physical, tangible body.

• ναὸς (naos) — not the whole temple complex, but the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies where the divine Presence actually dwells.

• ἐν ὑμῖν (en hymin) — within you, and among you.

• οὐκ ἐστὲ ἑαυτῶν — you are not your own.

• ἠγοράσθητε γὰρ τιμῆς — you were bought with a price.

  
  

This is not casual religious language. It speaks of intimate indwelling, fierce ownership, and costly redemption. I will explore that last phrase—“bought with a price”—and what it has come to mean to me in a coming post. For now, it is enough to say this:

I am discovering that I am a living Sacrarium.

A place that holds what is sacred with reverence, then releases it—at the perfect time—without contamination or regret. A quiet channel between heaven and earth, body and spirit, offering and return.

Perhaps some of you are on a similar journey, if so, please feel free to share.