Editor’s note: Jim Manney is the author of A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer and other books about Ignatian spirituality. Below is an excerpt he shares from his newest book, What Matters Most and Why: Living the Spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Whether we are aware of it or not, at every moment of our existence we are encountering God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is trying to catch our attention, trying to draw us into a reciprocal conscious relationship.
—William A. Barry, SJ
You are on vacation, riding on a highway in Colorado, and you are stunned by the beauty of the mountains. You sit at the Thanksgiving dinner table with your family, and you feel a great surge of gratitude for—everything. You’re weary, bone-tired, and discouraged after a grueling meeting about a work project that’s in trouble, and you feel an assurance that everything will be OK. You think about a neighbor, a woman who is waiting for the results of a cancer screening, and you feel an urge to connect with her.
You have feelings like these all the time. Some you remember; some you don’t. Some call for a response; some don’t. Recognize them for what they are—ways that God is trying to catch your attention.
