Another word for indifference is freedom. Ignatius says that to make good decisions, we must try to be free from personal preferences, societal expectations, fear of poverty and loneliness, desire for fame and honor, and anything else that stands in the way of the choice that will best serve God and bring us true happiness. These are the disordered attachments that Ignatius wants us to be free of. . . .
Usually, it’s quite difficult to sort out the confusing muddle of ordered and disordered attachments that most of us live with. When does a desire to be liked and complimented become abnormal vanity? I need money to live; I have a mortgage and a car that’s breaking down. I’d also like some new clothes, a remodeled kitchen, and a vacation. How much more money do I need? What I am I willing to do to get it? We begin to answer these difficult questions by starting from a position of freedom—detachment from any particular outcome, from other people’s ideas of the good life, from considerations of how someone like you should act.
—Excerpted from God Finds Us by Jim Manney
Photo by Movoyagee on Pexels.
I’ve been thinking lately about our–my own–inability to make a truly ‘pure’ choice. For example, my charitable acts may have a substrate of self interest or egotism. My conclusion is, yeah, I’m not perfect nor ever will be. I go on with my positive gestures towards charity and mercy and all the rest, knowing they are imperfect and may not succeed in helping.
So too, my ‘free’ acts are inevitably constrained by my education, my circumstances, my obligations to others, and my ignorance. And still, I have this remarkable capacity to choose for Christ!
Life is a beautiful gift to be spent in doing good. Position of freedom is an important starting point in spirituality. For the ancient doers of good, Nishkama Karma or Niṣkāmakarma was a self-less or desire-less action. It was an action performed without any expectation of fruits or results.
In making decisions, one can never be free. We have biases, responsibilities, obligations, and a plethora of other things that affect our freedom. It is my belief that one must accept your strengths and weaknesses, try to be free from outside interferences, and make decisions using Ignatian indifference. And once a decision has made, how does one judge whether it was good or bad? If it was a bad decision, can the individual live with the consequences? Speaking in general terms about freedom is one thing, but applying it to a clear, concrete decision for Christ is another. Perhaps the author can point out how St. Ignatius teaches us how to handle making bad decisions.
Deixar tudo nas mãos amorosas de Deus.
Esta frase me tocou o cérebro e o entendimento.
No momento q li chorei muito pois ali estava o Senhor me lembrando da Sua existência magnífica e amorosa.
Obg. Adorei o texto.