Today, July 31st, is the Feast Day of St. Ignatius, who went home to God on this day in 1556.
There’ are other sections of this blog that go into great detail about this man, the religious order he founded, and his legacy of the Spiritual Exercises.
I came to know St. Ignatius several years ago through the kindness of a Jesuit priest who gave me some books on the life of this Saint.
Last night, I was doing a presentation on the spirituality of St. Ignatius, and someone asked me if I could sum it all up in a few words.
Smiling, I responded by saying that for me personally, I think Ignatius’ challenge to “find God in all things” to be of major importance. So often, it’s easy to find God when things are going well, when we have a job, money in the bank, maybe a house and lots of friends and family around us.
But when all that falls away, for whatever reason, we quickly turn to “how could God let this happen?” “He must have abandoned me!” Yes, it’s sometimes hard to find God in the difficult parts of life, but He’s there, even when we don’t feel His presence. That’s the harder thing to do, isn’t it?
Remember the promise Jesus made before ascending to heaven: “…I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). That promise is being fulfilled even now, in good times and bad.
I hope that brings you some comfort today. I know it does me.
