Hello Everyone,
I trust you are well and not overwhelmed by the many and varied calls on your time. At times like these, as the end of one year and the beginning of another looms before us, we find ourselves frenetically trying to complete too many tasks and in the process, we lose sight of some really important ones.
In his Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius highlights what he refers to as disordered affections. These can run the gamut between people, things, jobs...anything with which we can become so absorbed, they usurp the place of our devotion, ultimately rendering lukewarm, our relationship with God.
Ignatius uses the parable of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17 - 27) in suggesting that only when we honestly name those distractions can we truly, honestly and lovingly, follow Jesus.
As I read that passage of scripture again, putting myself in the young man's place by inserting my name wherever reference was made to him, I was surprised at the many things I wanted to hold on to; things that in all honesty, were not compatible with committed followership of Jesus.
As you all know, letting go is not always easy; especially because many of our affections include and involve good things. When however, they begin to insert themselves between us and that all important relationship, they have become disordered affections.
Thankfully, we are reminded, again by Ignatius, that because God's love for us is never ending, when we realize the slippery slope down which we may be descending, we can always reach up in faith and experience the divine grip, pulling us ever upwards, towards and within the circle of love that will not let us go.
As the weeks go by and you seek to create balance between the demands of your program and other commitments, remember...only one thing is needful; for in seeking first that which honors God, all other things will be added as well.
Blessed love,
Grace+