By James Martin, SJ
There’s an old Italian saying: “Three Jesuits, four opinions!”
In other words, Jesuits don’t always agree on everything. But if you asked three of us to summarize Ignatian spirituality, chances are we’d all say, “Finding God in all things.”
But what does that mean? Simply put: God is revealed to us every moment of the day. Not simply on Sundays during Mass. But in the morning, when your kids say “Thanks” after you’ve fixed their breakfast, and you find yourself grateful. At noon, when over lunch with a pal, you realize what an underappreciated blessing friendship is. In the afternoon, when you see the sun after a rainy day and marvel at God’s creation. And in the evening, after a long day, when you realize how happy you are to have a place to rest.
All sorts of things come up during our “ordinary” times: unexpected gratitude, powerful emotions, surprising insights, consoling memories, and hard-to-express feelings. All these are ways that God can communicate with us. God wants to meet you in all people and experiences, or as those three Jesuits would say, in all things.
Fr. James Martin, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, editor-at-large at America, and author of books including My Life with the Saints.
