Question from Hayden …

Hi Sister Julie! First of all, I admire you so much! Nuns fascinate me so much. What an amazing spirit you have to lead a life totally for Christ. I am a Christian (Episcopal; raised Episcopal, Methodist, and went to a Church of Christ College), and desire to be closer to God every day! I do have a great relationship with Him, but sometimes think I have trouble hearing what He is telling me. Any advice? I want to learn how to really listen with an open heart and mind. I think it was fate that I even stumbled upon your blog! You are amazing!

Hayden, I’m so glad you came by for visit. Your question is an important one, one that many people including myself have wrestled with. Even Saint Teresa of Avila — a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic tradition because of her teachings on prayer — struggled with prayer and listening to God.

The first thing I want to say is that your very desire to be closer to God is itself a clear indication that God is working within you, drawing you close. As Thomas Merton, the great spiritual writer and Cistercian monk, wrote in a prayer, “I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have this desire in all that I am doing.” He continued, saying, “And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it.” For me, that is one of the key things to listening to God and responding to God’s call — tapping into that God-inspired desire within yourself to please God, to respond to God in love, to reverence and stand in awe of God.

One of the best ways to do this is to spend time with God as much as you can. Practice Saint Paul’s injunction that we “pray without ceasing“. That means to have a spirit of prayer in all that you do, as you go about your daily life. It also means taking time just to be with God, alone and without distraction. This can be tough to do, and it is also a very intimate and vulnerable thing to do. But just as we would in a relationship with a loved one, we grow into these moments, we’re able to behold a sunset together without words or to gaze into one another’s eyes with great love. These experiences with God nurture us and help us be more in tuned with what God’s desire is for us, what God’s voice “sounds” or “feels” like.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches that there are some other specific ways to get in tune with God’s call to you and to help you better listen to and respond to God. The overall term for this is “discernment”. Ignatius developed a simple method by which you can review each day in a way that will help you grow in self-understanding and free you to follow God’s will. This practice is called the Daily Examen.

Those are just a few of my thoughts as I pray with you, Hayden, and all of us who long to draw close to God.

What ideas or thoughts does this inspire in you? What helps you to listen to God’s call to you?

“Teach us

to love

and

not count

the cost.”

What do Ignatius’ words mean for you today?

Crystal: This question is sort of off-topic, but I was wondering if you could say a bit about the Ignatian style of imaginative prayer that is a conversation with Jesus. Thanks

Father Martin: Actually, there is a long explanation of that in my chapter on St. Ignatius in My Life with the Saints. But briefly put, “Ignatian prayer” or “Ignatian contemplation” uses the imagination as a way to help people enter into a scene from Scripture, or to enter into a “discussion” with Jesus. For example, if you were looking at the story of the Sermon on the Mount, you might imagine yourself listening to Jesus speaking, and would ask the following questions in your prayer to set the scene: What do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel? What do I smell? What do I taste? In this way you “compose the place,” as St. Ignatius said, in your imagination, as a way of entering more deeply into the Scripture passage. And then you see what happens. Sometimes you are rewarded with new insights about that Bible story, and sometimes your emotion about what you are seeing reveals something new about yourself, about Jesus, or about God. In this case, for example, you might find yourself a little surprised that you are frightened about following all of the beatitudes, which might lead you into a good prayer about what is really required to follow Jesus. That’s just one example.

As for talking with Jesus, Ignatius calls these discussion “colloquies” in which you imagine Jesus before you and you speak to him in a “familiar” way as you would a friend. Essentially, Ignatius reminds us that our imagination is simply another way through which God communicates to us.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Happy Feast Day to all my Jesuit brethren and to all religious communities founded in the spirit of Saint Ignatius. Here are a couple ways to celebrate the Feast Day.

1. Read a biography of Saint Ignatius via Loyola Press.

Click on The Story of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556).

2. Learn more about a daily form of prayer developed by Saint Ignatius.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola developed a simple method by which you can review each day in a way that will help you grow in self-understanding and free you to follow God’s will. This practice is often called the Daily Examen. Learn more about the Daily Examen.

This is one of my favorite images of Saint Ignatius at the Jesuit retreat house in Guelph, Ontario.

(a continuation of A Catalogue of My Favorites: Part I)

[M is for Mary, the Mother of God - your favorite term of endearment for her]: Ark of the Covenant

[N is for New Testament - your favorite passage]: “If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

[O is for Old Testament - your favorite book here]: Isaiah and the prophets

[P is for Psalms - your favorite]: Psalm 63.

[Q is for Quote - saint quote]: “It is better to illuminate than merely to shine.” Saint Thomas Aquinas

[R is for Rosary - your favorite mysteries]: The Luminous Mysteries

[S is for Saint - the one you turn to in time of need - not including the Blessed Virgin Mary]: Saint Teresa of Avila, Mother Theresa McGivney, IHM, Saint Ignatius of Loyola

[T is for Tradition - your favorite Catholic tradition]: The Liturgy of the Hours and anything with incense

[U is for University - Which Catholic university have you attended or are currently attending?]: I’ve got my bachelor’s degree from University of Saint Michael’s College (Basilian) at University of Toronto, my masters from Regis College (Jesuit), and some miscellaneous course work at Sacred Heart Major Seminary (diocesan) and Washington Theological Union (mix of religious communities). I also taught a few semesters at the University of Detroit Mercy.

[V is for Virtue - the one you wish you had]: Prudence … as in “Be not conformed to this world, but he reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

[W is for Way of the Cross - Which station can you most relate to?]: The fourth: Jesus Meets His Mother. In the movie The Passion, when Jesus meets his mother on the road to Calgary, he says “Behold I make all things new.” (from Revelations 21:5) I was so struck by that when I saw the movie that the image continues to stay with me.

[X is for Xaverian Brothers - Do you know who they are?]: Their patron is Saint Francis Xavier.

[Y is for your favorite Catholic musician]: Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) — writer, composer, musician

[Z is for Zeal for the faith]: Absolutely!

Today is the 450th anniversary of the death of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The company I work for — Loyola Press — is named after him and all that we do emerges out of his vision. Many religious communities of women have been founded out of the vision of Saint Ignatius. Countless sisters, lay people, brothers, and priests have been formed by the vision of Saint Ignatius through retreats, discernment experiences, Ignatian prayers, Jesuit Volunteers, Christian Life Communities, and so many other ways.

Check out the blog of my colleague Jim Manney … he wrote a nice piece on Saint Ignatius at People of the Book.