FIND GOD IN DAILY LIFE

August 27, 2006

Finding God in our daily activities is a central challenge of faith. How can we do this?

Some people are so convinced this is impossible that in order to find the God of life, they seek to withdraw from life. Certainly, we can say some people are called to renounce the world in a way that calls for them to withdraw from it in order to enter into a life of silence and contemplation. This is a distinct grace. But it is a great error to think that if we are not called to a desert monastery, we are not called to deep and daily communion with God. God speaks to us in all our experiences and this is where we should seek him.

One saint who is especially helpful in this challenge is St. Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th century Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus. The hallmark of Ignatius' spirituality is "to seek God in all things", to be able to perceive the presence of God in every moment, occurrence, experience, and relationship. This is not a small gift. It is a great grace.

St. Ignatius was a practical, down-to-earth mystic because he never deviated from his desire for God, yet he never despised the world or thought of abandoning it.

Early in Ignatius' conversion experience, he realized the need to write down in a notebook his experiences with God in prayer. He did this because he found these experiences precious but elusive. Writing them down tended to clarify their meanings. He also found that writing down what he experienced with God recreated the experiences for him. So he continued.

Little did he know that his writings would help millions of Christians for centuries to come. Ignatius' writings have come to be known as "The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola".

Ignatius' desire was to convert people's hearts to the desire for God, to love with the love of God, and to find God in all things. The exercises were Ignatius' organized procedure to assist this conversion of hearts. The emphasis is definitely on the word "exercise". To use a comparison, if we want to be physically healthy, we must engage in physical exercises for every part of our bodies: arms, legs, back, shoulders, and so on. If we do not exercise, we begin to feel sluggish. We lack the energy we need to feel good and accomplish things. It is the same with the spirit. That was Ignatius' key insight. If we are to grow strong, healthy, and happy in our spirits, we must exercise on a daily, disciplined basis.

What kind of exercises did Ignatius propose for the human spirit? He provided a series of meditations, contemplations, considerations, silent and spoken prayers, the examination of consciousness, and other exercises that are spiritual. All of these exercises, in Ignatius' plan, had as their purpose to awaken and develop our desire for God, our ability to love with God's love, and our ability to find God in all things.

One of the most important of Ignatius' exercises is the examination of consciousness. This is not the same as an examination of conscience, in which we search ourselves for any wrongdoing we may be guilty of. The purpose of the examination of consciousness, a must for St. Ignatius, is to reflect on the various events of the day to try to discover how God was present in each of them. The purpose of this, in turn, was to be able to give thanks and praise to God for this realization, and also to sharpen awareness of how God is present.

Even more than this, the purpose is to better prepare to give ourselves over to God in each experience. Ignatius said this prayer exercise should be performed twice every day, at about noon and before we retire at the end of the day. The examination should last about 10-15 minutes, Ignatius maintained, otherwise it would be too superficial.

Ignatius outlined five components to this exercise. First, there is an act of the presence of God in thanksgiving. Second is a prayer for the gift of being able to see God in every experience of our day. Third is a reflective overview of our past hours. Fourth is asking God for the gift of gratitude for His love and gifts and a healing sorrow for our own brokenness of response. Finally, there is an overview of our immediate future hours with a renewed sensitivity to God's presence and call.

That's the basic plan. It's one we can all adopt, and it is a great help to finding God in our daily activities.


+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap