Inspiring Ignatian Quote #10
“Finding God in all things.” is at the heart of Ignatian Spirituality. While not Ignatian, Mother Teresa, along with Ignatius, were both not only ‘called Christians’, they were noticeably Christian by their actions. They both found God in all things, all people, creatures, nature; ALL things. They saw the handiwork in the beautiful and in what some might call ugly, in the healthy and in the sick, in the rich and in the poor . . . it mattered not what or whom, they first looked at the heart or the image and took time to wonder, what is God trying to share with me? St. Francis of Assisi, after his conversion, did this as well. Most saints and mystics practiced not only seeing God in all things, but in drawing, singing, praying, praising, or in some way celebrating their experience of God.
St. Ignatius felt called to write down his experiences in a journal he always kept with him. These were his most private thoughts, feelings and responses to experiences, visions and apparitions. From these writings he developed the formal Spiritual Exercises. In fact, when he faced the Inquisition regarding his use of his so-called ‘spiritual exercises’, (he was facing charges of heresy), he was forced to turn over his journal. By his encouraging ‘lay people’, ordinary folks, to use their imagination when praying to God, the Church was very concerned that their mortal souls could be in danger by such a practice. After a lengthy imprisonment, and their reading of his journal, and interviewing of followers, he was released and his exercises were found to be sound practices.
One of the easiest practices, exercises, is to look for how God has touched your life. Where has the Creator showed you an aspect of Creation for you to admire? . . . care for? . . . serve? Specifically, the Examen Prayer, used at the end of the day, is not only a way to illuminate special moments throughout the day, but it also helps us prepare for the next day, to do a bit better. I offer this on a prayer card for each of my directees, and their response confirms that it is indeed a worthwhile exercise.
We know how important it is to keep our bodies fit with physical exercise, to keep healthy by exercising good nutrition as fuel for our bodies, but what do we do to exercise our spiritual life? That is where a Spiritual Director can help you, it is what Ignatius spent his life sharing with his followers and with those who were led to him.
Finding God in each breath, “Ruah”, in each of the senses we are able to use. My sister-in-law has lost the ability to smell, but that also impacts her ability to taste food, to savor a wonderful meal. Many experienced this loss during CoVid. Perhaps a silver lining to the pandemic is that we can gain an appreciation for such simple things as smell and taste. Simply by going through the 6 senses, and experiencing the results, then journaling them, we can begin an appreciation process. We can then look to the people in our lives and relationships. . . . in the food we have through the efforts of our own or others, but ultimately through the Loving Creator. . . . in our skills, abilities, talents that help us to do fruitful work?
In each of these areas, (and so many more), taking the time to be mindful, to journal and record the experiences, and then to offer gratitude to our Loving Creator for all that we have been so richly blessed with, is the beginning of exercising our spirit. Growth comes when you realize how much more you notice and become aware of, when you review your journaling entries and see how far you’ve come, and how easily a simple prayer of gratitude is offered with little effort.
You will recognize more abundance, understand that a Loving Creator is constantly providing for his creation, and that simple gratitude is not enough. That is when a ‘personal trainer’ (Spiritual Director) will be helpful . . . what ‘exercises’ do I add next? How much do I increase ‘the weight of the next exercise’? How often do I ‘work out’? Training principles are the same for physical or spiritual. The training we do for our bodies is only temporal . . . they will eventually die and decay. But, our spirits, our souls, will go on to live forever . . . that is the training that will have everlasting effects! Start small, by finding God anywhere and everywhere you can . . . in all things!