Ignatius of Loyola

Tags

Ad majorem Dei gloriam, daily prayer, God's will, grace, jesuits, love one another, reflection, retreat, St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Society of Jesus, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, The Spiritual Exercises

When I was in elementary school at Our Lady Help of Christians parish, it was the custom on our tests (and probably other written work) to place a small cross at the top of the page and underneath to print JMJ (Jesus, Mary, Joseph). I don’t remember being instructed each time to do what was most likely supposed to become a habit of dedicating our work to the Holy Family but I suspect for many of us it was either a desperate prayer for help or a desire to be seen as pious. Later on, as we grew into the upper grades and got more sophisticated, the letters changed to AMDG (Ad majorem Dei gloriam = for the greater glory of God). Knowing the meaning in English was easier than remembering the Latin words, at least until we got to high school. It wasn’t until much later that I learned how famous that phrase was.

Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of The Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. The life story of Ignatius and his “society” is a great read which I will not repeat here (see “saint of the day” from www.franciscanmedia.com for the concise version) but it is clear that the influence of this man who lived from 1491 to 1556 – and died on this day – is greater today than in his lifespan because of his work that has come to be known as The Spiritual Exercises. Originally written for the Jesuits themselves, in our time the Exercises have been incorporated into the lives of people – religious and lay – throughout the world who are seeking spiritual growth. Based on the gospels and written as a four-week retreat, it is a rigorous daily commitment to prayer and reflection that can set one on a course for life. For those who cannot spend an entire month in retreat, there is “the nineteenth annotation” process, wherein each “day” becomes a week spread over 30 weeks. (much information on line).

The goal of everything for Ignatius was doing the will of God, thus the motto: Ad majorem Dei gloriam. This desire is captured in a simple, sincere prayer attributed to him that I believe may be the most profound gift we can offer to God each day.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will – all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertisements

Greeting the Day

Tags

consciousness, Genesis, gift, John Philip Newell, love one another, made new, new day, Peace, Praying With the Earth, reflection, renewed, soul, strengthened, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Late yesterday just after I had arrived at the party marking the 85th birthday of my friend, Florence, the skies opened and gave a torrential drink of water to the parched earth. Just before I left an hour later to return to the retreat I was hosting at home, the rain stopped. Sometimes things just happen that way. Had I been home without a group of people wrapping up an afternoon of deep reflection, I would have loved to go outside and let myself be washed by the cooling water falling from the sky, as I symbolically felt the sensation of having all things being made new. I opted instead for the reasonable option of staying dry.

Today is Sunday, the start not only of a new day, but a new week of life. I know my calendar holds information about many events this week and so good intentions must be made. I will need to be very focused to use my time well as the week unfolds. Right now, however, I wish only to breathe into the moment in which I find myself as I join with John Philip Newell to bless the day at hand.

For the gift of this new day, for waking again from the dreams of the night, for our bodies strengthened and our minds renewed, thanks be to you, O God. You are the stillness of the night. You are the genesis of the morning. You are the moistness of new conception. Let there be peace in the human soul, let there be wakings to new consciousness, let there be tears of love. In the life of the world this day and in our own hearts let there be fresh tears of love. (Praying with the Earth – A Prayerbook for Peace)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found In Translation

Tags

endure, God is love, happiness, hope, hospitality, love one another, New American Bible, persevere, Romans, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was always envious of people who could quote Scripture with chapter and verse. I had my favorite passages – most of them short, like “God is Love” – but was usually only vaguely aware of where to find them in the Bible. The exception was Romans 12:12 (most likely because of the double 12) that reminded me to “base your happiness on your hope in Christ.”

I read the first lectionary text for today (ROM 12:9-16) at least three times looking for my favorite line, disappointed at not seeing it there. I concluded finally that perhaps the translation had been updated from my 1970 edition of the New American Bible. It finally occurred to me during my third attentive walk through each line that the whole text is an amazing pattern for life! Here’s a smattering of it. See if you don’t agree.

Brothers and sisters: let love be sincere…hold onto what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor…Rejoice in hope (new vs. 12!), endure in affliction, persevere in prayer…exercise hospitality…

Which line calls to you today?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Servant to the Servants of God

Tags

abundance, breakfast, calling, Corinthians, generosity, John, love one another, Matthew, meals, message, new commandment, servant, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

It’s funny how first thoughts upon arising from sleep sometimes fit into the message for the day. That’s one way I know how the concept of inspiration can be defined. Here’s my example. I woke up this morning one minute before my alarm was to sound. (That in itself is always a welcome surprise!) As I rolled out of bed I thought that my first line in today’s message would be: “Short stories this morning, friends; I’m on kitchen duty this weekend and people will be waiting for breakfast!” (We have a weekend workshop here at the Spiritual Center and it’s my turn to prepare the meals for the participants.)

With my first sip of coffee came the first line of the first reading for today (from the first chapter of the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians!): Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters (1COR 1:26). The gospel acclamation reminds me that Jesus gave more than a hint of what that means in his statement – that he called “a new commandment“, saying Love one another as I have loved you. (JN 13:34) And then the gospel (MT 25: 14-30) finishes by warning me not to be like the servant who buried his talent in the ground for fear that he would fail to increase it.

I’m not planning on creative meals this weekend; the menus are already set, tried and true offerings that have been successful here and recipes that are easy to follow. So the service I give needs to spring more from who I am, with and for the people who have come seeking an experience of their “higher selves.” I will have to serve up a full complement of welcome with their pancakes and eggs this morning, a cheerful sense of abundance with the salad bar at noon and an outpouring of love with dinner that includes the sweetness of smiles with dessert. Luckily I have my good friend, Carol, with all her natural generosity and willingness, to help me do the “job.”

So off I go to this welcome task, knowing the secret that service to the servants of God is wonderfully rewarding as long as it’s freely given. In such a mutual exchange, everybody wins!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Love

Tags

commandment, love one another, love your neighbor as yourself, Romans, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Paul’s message is very succinct this morning. I try to find an example of something that does not fit in his first sentence and I cannot. He says: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. I would stop there except that after naming other commandments to prove his point he repeats himself, adding that teaching that goes even deeper. He says that whatever other commandment there may be is summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (ROM 13:8-10)

Think about it; it’s all in there. Don’t you agree?

Hard Questions

Tags

bad and good, commandment, John, love, love one another, love your enemies, Matthew, pray, radical message, Sermon on the Mount, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The gospel acclamation for this morning heralded the radical message about a new commandment that was about to be proclaimed. The verse from John that preceded the gospel says, “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (JN 13:34). That alone would be enough for more than a day’s reflection. But the message from Matthew (5:43-48) that winds up the Sermon on the Mount must have put a shocking conclusion on what was already foreign territory for the listeners of Jesus. It may cause us a bit of soul-searching too. Read it aloud if you will: You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes the sun rise on the bad and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is so unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?

Heritage

Tags

Corinthians, Eucharist, Exodus, Hebrews, Holy Thursday, Jesus, John, Last Supper, love, love one another, memorial feast, Passover, Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, washing feet

This morning’s readings remind us that Eucharistic services only happen in the evening of this day as we read in the Hebrew Scriptures the story of the Passover from slavery in Egypt to freedom (EX 12) and in the Christian Scriptures the institution of the Eucharist during what we term the Last Supper. This year’s eight day celebration of Passover for our Jewish brothers and sisters begins tomorrow, coinciding with our remembrance of  the events of the Paschal Mystery as Jesus passes through death to new life.

Today’s first reading, the detailed instruction of how the Hebrews are to celebrate Passover, ends saying: “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate…as a perpetual institution.” I will always be grateful for the understanding I received about the way that happens in the Jewish Seder. When the stories of liberation are read, rather than seeing those chronicled events as past history, the Jewish people experience them as present. The stories are entered into as if they are happening as they are being read. After that realization came to me, I viewed the words of the institution of the Eucharist (which we hear from Paul tonight in 1COR 11) in a different and more vibrant way. And it is now when I hear those words that I can see myself in that upper room listening to the conversation about the new covenant that Jesus is instituting at the supper. Even more visual as the example of what that means for us is the action of Jesus in tonight’s gospel (JN 13:1-15) when he rises from the table and begins to wash the feet of his disciples. Having had just such an experience at a supper table on retreat in 2010, washing the feet of a friend and having my own feet washed in turn, I understand that these events are not past history or only meaningful stories, but are commands of Jesus for now as we live into our faith and come to understand ever more deeply what Jesus meant when he said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

The Law of the Lord

Tags

blessed, communal heart, happy, heartbeat of God, Jesus, John, love, love is the answer, love one another, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning’s psalm (119) is punctuated with the refrain: Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! One of the common translations of “blessed” is “happy” which author Greg Laurie says is “self-contained, that is, not dependent on circumstances of our life…regardless of what is happening externally, we can be truly happily internally.”  The first reading for this morning from the Second Letter of John tells us quite succinctly the definition of that law that will make us happy. He says that it’s nothing new “but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another.” That’s it; that’s the whole thing. It’s what Jesus says and Paul says and what John is a specialist of saying in his letters. To the best of our ability, independent of the circumstances of our lives, it is the core of what will make us truly happy in the deepest chamber of our personal and communal heart. It is where we will hear the heartbeat of God assuring us that love really is the answer.