Finding God in All Things
A Reflection on Ignatian Spirituality
“… he (Ignatius) likewise had another privilege which made him see God present in all things and in every action, with a lively sense of spiritual realities: contemplation in the midst of action, or, according to his ordinary expression: FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS.” (Letters of Nadal)
“His devotion always went on increasing, that is the ease with which he found God, which was greater than he had ever had in his life. Whenever he wished, at whatever hour, he could find God.” (“The Life of St Ignatius as told to Fr. Luis Gonzalez de Camera by Ignatius himself.”)
Fathers Nadal and Gonzalez were Ignatius’ close assistants and secretaries, and, in the words of Raymond Schoder, SJ, in his introduction to a modern translation of Gonzalez’ work, this account of his life ‘was extorted from the saint by the affectionate importunity’ of these two early companions and friends. Thank God for their persistence, for the phrases ‘finding God in all things’ and ‘contemplative in the midst of action’ have rung down through the centuries to stir up a longing desire in countless pilgrims to have this ‘ease of access’ to God and intimate companionship with him in every aspect of their lives.
Can it be ‘easy’ to find God in all things? Or, indeed, to find god in anything? Well he is not in hiding somewhere ‘out there’ (or even ‘up there’), so if there is a problem, it’s not with Him. I, personally, though, find I can hide my self away in a thousand nooks and crannies, and can even, if all else fails, create my own ‘shadows’ and conceal myself in them. But even that’s an illusion. I’m not really hidden from Him at all. There’s no place to hide, as His beloved O.T. people came to learn (and to appreciate!) over centuries of an up-and-down relationship with Him (c.f. Ps 139 — and when you’ve finished reading that, look up Francis Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven”, and see how one 20th century man considered the same sort of situation!)
If the problem is that we can’t find Him or He can’t find us, could it be that we don’t want to be found? Perhaps my image of God is such that the last thing I want is to find Him or have Him find me. Heaven only knows what He’d ask of me, or even demand of me, once I let him into my life. (Probably to give up everything else, for starters, particularly everything I find enjoyable!)
Much better, in that case, to play it safe and ‘hide myself’, seeking fulfilment and pleasure in the ‘lovely things he has made’, as St Augustine did for so many years. And as God was the most prodigal creator of lovely things ever (and a great many of them can be found in York) that should keep me happy and satisfied for a long time yet …. perhaps …. possibly ….. but Augustine himself discovered that he was not so easily satisfied as he thought, and that fulfilling his heart’s every desire did not ease his restless longing for something more and something other. Eventually he had to ask himself what did he really want that he didn’t already have? What was he really looking for? His conclusion — “You have made us for yourself, God, and our hearts are restless ‘til they rest in you” — has rung down through even more centuries than Ignatius’s, and re-echoed in even more hearts, rousing them to seek and find intimacy with God.
So, there would appear to be not so much a problem as a question which we each have to ask for ourselves. It can take many forms: What do I believe will satisfy the deepest longings of my heart? What am I restlessly yearning for? What is it that I really want? Whatever your answer to each or any of these questions is, that is what will impel you, here and now, to ‘seek and find’ — be it God or anything else. It would seem, then, only sensible and expedient to get the answer right, if at all possible! To paraphrase a cartoon I recently saw on a calendar — before you spend valuable time getting to the top of the ladder, it’s as well to make sure you’ve got it leaning against the right wall! If the answer you come up with is that you do want and need to find God; or if you’re not sure what you really want, but have a sneaking suspicion God is in there somewhere, then what do you do about it?
The Ignatian method of doing something about it, by the use of what he called Spiritual exercises, is one way, among others, which has helped countless seekers to find what they really wanted; to find out for themselves, through the experience of praying through the Scripture, God’s place in their lives and their place in the whole of created reality. The Exercises are not, of course, essential for all, nor are they the answer to every spiritual difficulty and problem. They have, however, proved themselves to be, for over 400 years, an instrument of grace and growing spiritual freedom offered to the Church by Ignatius, and accepted by her, as one among many helpful devotions, pious practices and methods of prayer within the Christian tradition (no one of which is necessarily suitable nor appealing to everybody).
If you were to decide they might suit you, what would you have to do to make a success of them? The answer is — nothing. You don’t have to take a course, listen to lectures, pass an examination or get a degree. Success or failure (if one can use such terminology in reference to the Exercises) does not depend on what you do, but on what God does. You just have to be — be yourself, be with God, and let Him be himself with you.
What will it cost you? Time. Just time. Time to be and to be with, to be still, to listen and to be listened to; the sort of time you have to give to developing any ongoing relationship of love and friendship.
Can one fit it into a tightly packed schedule? Adaptation is the name of the game. And that, is what it’s all about — living the mystery of life, not solving problems. Ignatius’ way of living the mystery was to live it through, with and in Christ, desiring only to do His will, in all things, whenever he wished, at whatever hour. The Way which is Christ is open to everyone. The question remains, what do you want? Is Christ the answer? Come and see.
Sister Amadeus is the University of York’s Roman Catholic Chaplain.