Inspiring Ignatian Quote #15
Weeping Angel of Amiens Cathedral; Amiens, France.
One of the greatest treasures of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises that Ignatius crafted is his Discernment Techniques. They are simple, yet brilliant methods to help us discern between good and evil, the good and evil spirits. He says we must choose which ‘standard to stand under’. This has a military implication from his years of military training. He instructs us that we are at battle, we are faced with spiritual warfare at all times. We need to choose which side we will defend, good or evil? The Standard of Christ identifies those who chose to fight for good; the Standard of Satan (or, the Evil One) identifies those who fight for evil. While we are not required to actually carry ‘that flag’ or wear ‘those colors’ to identify which side we are on, our actions are what people will notice. An old folk song comes to mind: “They will know we are Christians by our love . . . “ (Peter Scholtes, 1960) Some may choose to wear identifying jewelry or tattoos, but it is often not easy to make a proper identification based on one encounter.
In today’s world, there is much evil. It seems at times, that those who speak out against the evils are being silenced. That is how evil works . . from a place of fear, not of love. But, Christ was a rebel in His own time, and He faced down both evil civil and religious leaders. He followed ONLY His father’s will, even unto His own brutal death. Thousands of martyrs, even to this very day, are giving their lives ‘carrying the standard of good’ in some way, possibly by simply being/being associated with other Christians.
We are called to choose. While we may choose to stay on the fence, St. John writes in his book of Revelation why this is not to be tolerated. “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. . . . So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (3:15-16) This haunts me at times . . . especially those times when I really don’t want to speak out, cause waves, stir up trouble . . . but that is precisely when I am appearing to be lukewarm, even if my heart really wants to do good, or at least better. This can lead to discouragement, even when trying to do the necessary good.
Today, I felt that sense of discouragement. I feel like I’m trying to do too much by myself, and not seeing other options. How I’d love a trip to the beach for a few days, but something keeps coming up to thwart that! I’m only an hour or so away from the Pacific Ocean or any number of lakes, rivers, the Puget Sound, bays, even majestic Mt. Rainier. But, my heart is yearning for that great expanse of creation you only feel at the ocean. When I saw this quote and chose it for today, it reminded me how very much I have to be joyful about, grateful for, even just plain happy about! I realized that by discerning the spirits, that I had let the evil one creep in for just a few moments, and it was amazing how quickly it took hold of my whole countenance!
I was almost in tears, missing my mother. I turned that around rather quickly by saying a prayer of gratitude that she was my mother and that I was so blessed to enjoy her company and love for so many years! I felt a little better, and allowed myself to be sad, but not terribly so. I was just surprised at the strong emotion of sadness, so abruptly. It just hit me like a wave.
I felt tired. I wanted desperately to take a nap and not address the dozen things that should be on a ‘To Do List’, but was too tired to even write them down. I figured, if I was really that tired, then precisely what I needed was, indeed, a nap! I set a timer and got up after 30 minutes, ready to think about what really needed to go on a list. Nothing really important, after all. I thanked God for the blessing of the ability to take a brief nap, especially in the cool, cloudy weather as reprieve from the heat. Gratitude turns it all around!
By then over half the day had gone by with not much to show for progress, so I felt discouragement set in. Upon reflection, this seemed to be what the rest of the emotions of the day had been built upon. When I saw this quote, I realized that evil was still trying to pry its way into my heart, but I vowed not to let it take hold! I came into the sanctuary, burned a smudge stick, opened the door . . . evil be gone!
This is the prayer I choose for this evening (I may have to just keep repeating it!!!):
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guide your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:4-7)
Let it be so . . . and remember, “Discouragement is not from God”; find encouragement from Christ!