Raw Material for Discernment

 I continue to go through the Ignatian Lenten Retreat that I shared about in my previous post below. If nothing else, you might like to check out Week Two of the retreat that serves as an excellent foundation for the Examen. Here is the link: Week Two.

My retreat reflection this morning included this quote, which was a good reminder for me today.

Ignatius’s Great Discovery
The point has often been made that the Christian Gospel is a story of strength and triumph arising from weakness and defeat. The Savior is a poor man in a provincial, backwater land. Salvation comes about through suffering and death. In the words of Mary’s Magnificat prayer: “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

We’re afflicted with divided hearts that cause us to be burdened by angst, uncertainty, and fear when making important decisions. But this very confusion of thoughts and feelings is the place where we find God’s footprints. It’s the raw material for discernment.

This was Ignatius’s great discovery.

— J. Michael Sparough, SJ; Jim Manney; Tim Hipskind, SJ,
What’s Your Decision?