Editor’s note: Throughout July, we’re hosting 31 Days with St. Ignatius, a month-long celebration of Ignatian spirituality. In addition to the calendar of Ignatian articles found here, posts on dotMagis this month will explore the theme of “The Audacity of Ignatian Spirituality.”
Inspired by the Ignatian tradition, we make a bold claim: God is to be found in all things. This insight revolutionizes how we look at our lives, at the nitty-gritty, seemingly mundane details to be found in our own stories. God so delights in us as beloved creatures that God desires to draw ever nearer. Nothing is beyond God’s gaze, and everything shimmers with grace. God is intimately involved in the unfolding of our unique vocations.
And so, we make another leap of faith: if God is to be found in our vocational stories, then God is found in the stories that we create. We are made in the image and likeness of our God, who is creative; the constant unfurling of our vocational paths is a creative journey. And the stories that surround us—fruits of the human imagination that has been touched by God—are revelatory of the Spirit at work.
This is why we can confidently say that God can be found—and, in fact, is at work—in the stories of pop culture. The Spirit is there in the movies we watch and the books that we read, in the songs that we sing along to in the car and the video games we play late into the night. God is in the panels of our favorite comic books and in our favorite TV shows when we binge-watch.
I’m not saying that every aspect of pop culture is instructive on how to live as God desires. But I am saying that, if we believe God is in all things and permit the Spirit to speak to us through the very fabric of reality, then pop culture becomes an expression of our grappling with God’s dreams and stories.
Here’s how we know God is present in seemingly secular plotlines. How often, after finishing a film or a novel, do we insist to family and friends that they, too, must experience the same story?
“You have to watch this show. You have to read this book.”
What we’re really saying is, “I loved it, and you will too.”
Beyond that, what we’re saying is, “This story affected me deeply. Something moved within me, and I want the same thing for you.”
This is a spiritual need, and it’s a need that bubbles over and into community. It demands connection. And here, in this need and expression of community, we glimpse God.
It’s here that we touch something in story that resonates with our own story, our own vocation. A film, novel, or play so moves, surprises, or consoles us that we get in touch with something profound within ourselves. We see our own story reflected outside of ourselves. We feel seen.
Dare we say, we feel God, who is always beholding us, ever-present in our stories. Bolstered by this grace of this moment of consolation, we go out to share this good news with others.
Here’s my challenge to you. Name a story within pop culture that has profoundly moved you. What’s the last book or movie that you insisted others read or watch? Why? What did you hope to share? What does that sharing reveal about you, what really matters to you, and your own vocational story?
Might God’s Spirit be at work here? Is that Christ whispering something in your ear, speaking through secular parables that drive home a spiritual point?
Audaciously, God is in all things. God is in all stories. We humans are storytellers, story sharers, and story receivers. And God’s story is still unfolding.
Share your answers to Eric’s challenge in the comments below or with #31DayswithIgnatius on social media channels. Then read Repeat Returns and the Examen by Marina Berzins McCoy, today’s featured article in 31 Days with St. Ignatius.