Scripture for meditation: Mathew 16:24-27
The Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone
desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and
follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains
the whole world, and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his
soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his father with His angels,
and then He will reward each according to his works.THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES http://www.manresa-sj.org/230_SPEX.htm
St. Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus, underwent a profound experience of God during his stay in the little town of Manresa in Spain in 1522. His heart's desire was, as a lay person, to share with other lay people this same experience. As time went on he wrote a small book to assist in doing this. He called this book of directions The Spiritual Exercises. It was intended to help the person who directed another in a structured thirty-day or even 9-month long program of prayer and contemplation.
Some of the major themes normally addressed in the four weeks or phases of the Exercises are:
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Week 1
God's unconditional, ever-faithful love.
Sin: our failure and the failure of the human family to
respond with love to God's love.
God's ever-greater love, mercy and forgiveness.
Week 2
The person and life of Christ.
Our call to discipleship, ministry and friendship with
Jesus.
Knowing Christ more intimately, loving Him more
ardently, following him more faithfully.
Week 3:
The ultimate expression of God's love.
The suffering and death of Jesus for us.
Week 4:
The victory of Jesus over death.
His sharing His joy with us.
Being missioned by Jesus.
Being empowered by His Spirit.
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THE PRINCIPLE AND
FOUNDATION OF OUR LIVES, BY ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA (introduction to the
Spiritual Exercises)
Man is created to praise, reverence,
and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.
And the other things on the face of
the earth are created for man and that they may help him in attaining the end
for which he is created.
Hence, man is to use them as much as
they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them as
far as they prove a hindrance to him.
Therefore, we must make ourselves
indifferent to all created things as far as we are allowed free choice and are
not under any prohibition.
Consequently, on our part, we should not
prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to
a short life. The same holds for all other things.
Our one desire and choice should be what
is most conducive to the end for which we are created.
(Consoling
the Heart of Jesus, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC, Marian Press, 2010)
Prayer of St.
Ignatius of Loyola:
O my God, teach
me to be generous:to serve you as you deserve to be served;
to give without counting the cost;
to fight without fear of being wounded;
to work without seeking rest;
and to spend myself without expecting any reward,
but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will. (http://feastofsaints.com/threeofignatius.htm)
My thoughts: If
there were a Hall of Fame for Saints, St. Ignatius of Loyola would definitely
be inducted. His life was filled with physical pain, spiritual suffering,
betrayal, persecution even by his own beloved Church, and rejection. He never
stopped preaching Christ and teaching his Spiritual Exercises, one of the
greatest means to sanctity ever written. For those of us in today’s modern
world who would not have time to make a 30 day retreat, I highly recommend Fr.
Michael Gaitley’s book, Consoling the
Heart of Jesus. My husband and I
went to the beach and used it as a weekend retreat. It changed our lives. Many
of my friends read it at a leisurely pace and it changed their lives. It can be
done as a discussion group, and it will change lives. It is a modern day
adaptation of the Spiritual Exercises St. Ignatius was inspired to write to
direct people’s lives to the only goal we should have in life: total surrender
to God’s will, and total indifference to the things of this world that do not
lead us to God. What a world this would be if we all lived a life which held no
desire for comfort, attention, recognition, money or pleasure. We would never
be afraid to fight for the word of God, because we would have nothing to lose
in doing so. Nothing to lose…what a freeing thought! Let us begin today to
detach and redirect. God is waiting with open arms, but they can’t hold us and
all of our things at one time. Free up, and fly up to God.
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