+JMJ
A Contemplation From The Principle and Foundation
I have been through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola a few times now. It is amazing that the Lord teaches me something new every single time. Scripture is truly a Living Word, which means the Lord will always speak to me where I am in my life and teach me accordingly. This time He has focused a lot on who I am in Him.
The Principle and Foundation
The human person is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord, and by so doing to save his or her soul. The other things on the face of the earth are created for human beings in order to help them pursue the end for which they are created. It follows from this that one must use other created things in so far as they help towards one’s end, and free oneself from them in as far has they are obstacles to one’s end. To do this we need to market ourselves indifferent to all created things, provided the matter is subject to our free choice and there is no prohibition. Thus as far as we are concerned, we should not want health more than illness, wealth more than poverty, fame more than disgrace, a long life more than a short, and similarly for all the rest, but we should desire and choose only what helps us more towards the end for which we are created. -St. Ignatius*
St. Ignatius starts here, because it is the defining point of our existence. Our purpose is to love and serve God. As I mediated on this first exercise I was drawn to the creation story. The Lord used Genesis to show me the significance of my own creation. I may feel small and insignificant in this world, but in the eyes of God this is not true.
Creation
And God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day. -Genesis 1:31
Contemplation
The Lord creates me with the most tender loving care. Considering every single aspect of my being. My temperament, my talents, my individual fingerprint, my physical attributes. He establishes everything even right down to the number of hairs I will have on my head. The Lord looks upon me, holding me safely swaddled in His arms. He kisses my forehead and His heart overflows with love. He whispers so sweetly, on the verge of happy tears, “And you are good, very good.”
In Genesis the line is repeated “And God saw that it was good.” This is the line that stuck me. Whatever He creates, He always creates it good. The great revelation was that this goes for me too.
In the mediations for the Principle and Foundation, St. Ignatius asks us to consider that the Lord could have created a million other things, but He chose to create each one of us. This always strikes me so powerfully. Of all the wonderful things He could have created instead of me, He used His power to create me. This shows me the magnitude of my individual creation. The importance of it to the Lord.
I was created purposefully with love and careful consideration. And so were you, my friend! The Lord does everything with a purpose, and yours is to praise Him who created you above anything else. To reverence Him, who created you with such devotion. To serve Him, who created you so good.
Thrive in Jesus, my friends!
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*Loyola, I. O., Munitiz, J. A., & Endean, P. (1997, January 1). Personal Writings (Penguin Classics) (1St Edition). Penguin Classics. Page 289