Receive Us as Your Own

July 31, 2007

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest

Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.” Exodus 34:9

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Matthew 13:43

Piety

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more.

Suscipe by St. Ignatius of Loyola

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/073107.shtml

Today is the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus – the Jesuits – a man whose work on earth shines like the sun to this day.

After leading a life in the military, Ignatius was injured and read the Lives of the Saints while recovering. He turned his back on his worldly possessions and life and started the Jesuit order. While other orders were founded on sets of rules put forth by founders like St. Benedict, St. Francis, or St. Dominic, St. Ignatius left behind a series of meditations now commonly called the “Spiritual Exercises.” In this method, the faithful put themselves into Bible stories and meditate on what it would be like to take part in the Sacred Scripture.

According to the Boston College web site, “Ignatian spirituality centers on the imitation of Jesus—focusing on those priorities which constitute Christ's mind, heart, values, priorities and loves.”

To learn what those values, priorities and loves are, Ignatius would encourage us to consider what Jesus said and did. At the foundation of Jesus’ life was prayer, a continuous search for how best to live as an authentic human being before a loving God. Jesus preached forgiveness of sins, healed the sick and possessed, and gave hope to the poor, to those socially and economically outcast. Jesus spoke of joy, peace, justice and love; he summoned men and women from all classes of society to continue to follow his way to God and his commitment to helping people become whole and holy.

Action

(St. Ignatius begins his Spiritual Exercises with The First Principle and Foundation. While not typically thought of as a prayer, it still contains much that is worth reflecting on. Read and reflect on this today as it has been paraphrased by David Fleming, S.J.)

The Goal of our life is to live with God forever.
God, who loves us, gave us life.
Our own response of love allows God's life
to flow into us without limit.

All the things in this world are gifts from God,
Presented to us so that we can know God more easily
and make a return of love more readily.
As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God
Insofar as they help us to develop as loving persons.
But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives,
They displace God
And so hinder our growth toward our goal.

In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance
Before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice
And are not bound by some obligation.
We should not fix our desires on health or sickness,
Wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.
For everything has the potential of calling forth in us
A deeper response to our life in God.

Our only desire and our one choice should be this:
I want and I choose what better leads
To God's deepening his life in me.