Welcome to the latest newsletter from The Distant Spire.
I hope you enjoy The Secret Place1, from my album Transcendent Horizons. Recorded in my home studio, it has a combination of guitars, synthesiser and an angelic shimmer effect which I have used, to at least in some way (however inadequate), to evoke the heavenly sense of peace we can find when sitting in that secret place with God.
“But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:6 NRSVCE2
My Secret Place
It took me many years to appreciate the importance of finding that place of quietness called the secret place, and the importance of being intentional about it. First; to set aside a real space, and secondly to carve out time by putting aside other activities or pursuits to spend time with our Saviour Jesus. But oh what joy! Once the habit was formed it became a sweet experience and something I looked forward to. I still don’t always succeed in setting aside time of course, for numerous reasons – tiredness, other commitments, as well as that ever present temptation to take the path of least resistance to seek earthly pleasurable pursuits. I have my secret place scheduled in my calendar every day regardless so that I cannot forget, as my carnal, forgetful mind is often want to do.
The secret place is not only our temporary escape from the pressures and distractions of daily life, but a place where the voice of God becomes clearer, his presence and his love is felt more intimately, and the space between heaven and earth becomes thinner.
CS Lewis and The Secret Place
Author Kevin Ott draws on the writings of CS Lewis in CS Lewis and Joy3, a five day devotional from YouVersion that elaborates further on spending time in the secret place:
“The secret place is where you bare your heart before God and pour every ounce of it at His feet ─ whether it be sorrow, gladness, thanksgiving, intercession, or all of it mixed together. In turn, God draws near and shelters you with His presence in the secret place.
Success in the secret place is not reaching a certain emotional epiphany every time we are with God. Success is not walking away with a sense of righteousness and patting ourselves on the back because we did all the right things. Success is simply showing up. The moment you’ve taken that first step to spend time with God, to be alone with Him, your time in the secret place is already a success.
The secret place … provides an eternal perspective that sets the tone for everything else in our lives. The time we spend in the secret place, in other words, begins to cure our hearts of fear ─ especially the paralysing fear of losing people or things precious to us. The secret place makes us fearless … and the more time we spend in the secret place, the more we gain great revelations of God’s character, love, and of Heaven itself.”
“You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”Psalm 16:11 NRSVCE
Where Else Can I Listen?
My music is available on various streaming platforms and I upload music regularly. I invite you to listen and add The Distant Spire to your favourite streaming platform playlist for devotional meditation music.
Starting with my first release Transcendent Horizons, I will be adding all of my devotional music for meditation to the playlist shown below. You can add it to your own account or follow me on Spotify here.
I recommend headphones or full range speakers both for listening quality and to provide some isolation from the noise and business so you can more easily enter into a quiet time with the Lord.
Some Additional Notes
On 13 March my wife and I attended the liturgy for The Rite of Election and Formal Recognition of Candidates as part of the RCIA4 along with around 210 other new entrants. It was a beautiful ceremony held at St Mary’s Cathedral5 in Perth. Put simply, it is an important step in the journey of formation before being fully initiated into the Catholic Church. Our names were presented on a scroll to the Archbishop and it was an elaborate, awe inspiring ceremony. There was an air of celebration and we felt so welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church. My only disappointment was not getting to meet the Archbishop, Most Rev Timothy Costelloe SDB. Please pray for us as we continue onwards and upwards through The Scrutinies culminating with Confirmation at Easter Vigil.
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I highly value your comments and encouragement it means a lot so please do so if what you enjoy what you hear, if it resonates with you or helps you in any way.
You can read more about The Distant Spire and the concept behind it on my About Page.
God bless you and keep you,
D.A Sigley
The Distant Spire
Footnotes and Resources
Written, Recorded and Produced by Dale A Sigley ©2025
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition.
The five day reading plan CS Lewis and Joy from YouVersion draws on the book Shadowlands and Songs of Light by Kevin Ott.
The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults is a process of formation, discerning and spiritual preparation before Confirmation and/or Baptism in the Roman Catholic Church.
In my researching St Mary’s Cathedral, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the foundation stone was laid in 1863 by Bishop Rosendo Salvado, the founder of New Norcia Monastery, also here in Western Australia.
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