The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything - James Martin [25]
As a result of his experience, Ignatius began to understand that God wants to communicate with us. Directly.
This idea would get Ignatius in trouble with the Inquisition and land him in jail. (Ignatius had his own problems with “religion” at times.) Some critics suspected that Ignatius was trying to bypass the institutional church. If God could deal with humanity directly, they wondered, what need was there for the church?
As I’ve mentioned, religion enables people to encounter God in profound ways in their lives. But Ignatius recognized that God could not be confined within the walls of the church. God was larger than the church.
Today the Ignatian notion of the Creator’s dealing directly with human beings is less controversial. It’s assumed by those on the “spiritual but not religious” journey. The far more controversial idea these days is that God would speak to us through religion.
But Ignatius’s insight is as liberating today as it was in his time. And it is here that Ignatian spirituality can help even the doubtful find God.
Some agnostics or atheists await a rational argument or a philosophical proof to demonstrate the existence of God. Some will not believe until someone can show them how suffering can coexist with the belief in God. A few may even hope for an incontrovertible physical “sign” to convince them of God’s presence.
But God often speaks in ways that are beyond our intellect or reason, beyond philosophical proofs. While many are brought to God through the mind, just as many are brought to God through the heart. Here God often speaks more gently, more quietly, as he did during Ignatius’s convalescence. In these quiet moments God often speaks the loudest.
Let’s look at some examples of these quiet, heartfelt moments in our own lives.
You are holding an infant, maybe your own, who looks at you with wide-open eyes, and you are filled with a surprising sense of gratitude or awe. You wonder: Where do these powerful feelings come from? I’ve never felt like this before.
You are walking along the beach, and as you cast your eyes to the horizon, you are filled with a sense of peace that is all out of proportion to what you expect. You wonder: Why am I getting so emotional about the beach?
You are in the midst of a sexual encounter with your husband or wife, or an intimate moment with your girlfriend or boyfriend, and you marvel at your capacity for joy. You wonder: How can I be so happy?
You are out to dinner or with a friend and feel a sudden sense of contentment, and you recognize how lucky you are to be blessed with her friendship. You wonder: This is an ordinary night. Where did this deep feeling come from?
You have finally been able to come to terms with a tragedy in your life, a sickness or death, or you find yourself consoled by a friend, and you are overcome with calm. You wonder: How is it that I am finally at peace in the midst of such sadness?
Gratitude, peace, and joy are ways that God communicates with us. During these times, we are feeling a real connection with God, though we might not initially identify it as such. The key insight is accepting that these are ways that God is communicating with us. That is, the first step involves a bit of trust.
Conversely, during times of stress and doubt and sorrow and anger, we can also experience God’s communication.
You accompany a good friend or relative struggling with a horrible illness, or maybe you are ill. You think: How could this happen? And you feel a desperate need, an urgent longing, for some comfort or connection.
You are in the midst of a stressful time and wonder how you can ever get through the day. Then someone says something