Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540. Ignatius is perhaps most famous for his Spiritual Exercises, one of the most influential treatises on prayer and discernment ever written. The "First Principles and Foundation" of the Exercises is still worth reflecting upon:
The Goal of our life is to live with God forever.
God, who loves us, gave us life.
Our own response of love allows God's life
to flow into us without limit.
All the things in this world are gifts from God,
Presented to us so that we can know God more easily
and make a return of love more readily.
As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God
Insofar as they help us to develop as loving persons.
But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives,
They displace God
And so hinder our growth toward our goal.
In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance
Before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice
And are not bound by some obligation.
We should not fix our desires on health or sickness,
Wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.
For everything has the potential of calling forth in us
A deeper response to our life in God.
Our only desire and our one choice should be this:
I want and I choose what better leads
To God's deepening his life in me.
1 comment:
this week my daughter and myself have had dreams of St. Ignatius, thank you for posting this as we discover the presence of Jesus is all we need. We had never heard of St. Ignatius before this week as we are not Catholic, nor do we usually know Saints which is why this is extremely unusual. again thank you
Post a Comment