Prayer and the Principle and Foundation

My first encounter with learning more substantially about Ignatian spirituality was in a workshop at Boston College offered years ago by the late Fr. Howard Gray, SJ. He was speaking about the Principle and Foundation, that is, the idea that God created us to love and serve God and that we are to treat all other created things as means to that and not to treat those goods as though they were gods. In the course of that talk, Fr. Gray noted some important features of prayer in relation to the Principle and Foundation, ones that have stayed with me.

• Prayer is an encounter and not a performance. What this means to me is that my focus should not be on whether I am praying “well” or “badly” or whether my prayer is simple or elaborate. What matters is that I show up and spend time with God. Just as when we are with others whom we genuinely love, we show up for the moment and not just for an agenda. Our lives with God can also be characterized by this quality of showing up to encounter this great Mystery.
• Prayer is about finding freedom. When I am not overly attached to any one created good, or even any one particular kind of prayer experience, then I am freer. God is not looking for slaves but for friends. But to be friends with the Lord, we need to be free of being overly attached to anything or anyone else, so that we can also love and serve others freely.
• Prayer is an invitation into God’s kindness and continuing ongoing creation of me. The way that I understand this idea is that I am not a finished product. In fact, I am not a product at all, but a person, and God is interested in accompanying me, creating me, and forming me as my life unfolds. And that process is never over.

These three features of encounter, freedom, and kindness in my ongoing growth are wonderful insights of Fr. Gray’s and help me to remember what is at the heart of the Principle and Foundation: God’s love for me and friendship for me and for all people.

Photo by Eye for Ebony on Unsplash.