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.”
St. Ignatius believed that we could become friends of God and that each of us could grow to be like Christ, who taught us with word and example.
Think about the implications of that. We human beings can be transformed. Christian theology has a word for this: divinization. Christ was “made” sin so that we could become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our transformation was always the goal.
We’re not talking about magical transformation—instantaneous change made without our participation. No, God invites us to collaborate in the lifelong process of becoming who we were created to be.
Freedom is crucial to this participation. We must be free from whatever holds us back, and we must be free for whatever God is calling us to do and be. Thus, from the beginning of Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises, in the First Principle and Foundation, freedom is described as our ongoing goal: to not wish for long life or short, good health or bad, and so forth. Our spiritual growth depends on our learning not to hold on to anything and on our having the interior freedom to try anything to which God calls us.
This kind of freedom can be exhilarating, because we can move forward in the confidence that, no matter what happens, we are God’s beloved and, in the words of Julian of Norwich, “all will be well.” Such freedom is not encumbered by fear and anxiety, by overthinking, second-guessing, or overplanning. When we become this free, others might look at us in alarm, because it is so rare to find anyone not manipulated by fear and anxiety.
Yet, we can be that free. Such interior freedom manifests in serenity, hope, a sense of adventure, and joy.
Try to imagine just a day of such freedom. You understand what God is inviting you to do; in fact, you have the capacity to understand because you are not clinging to a specific activity or outcome. When you understand what to do, then you simply do it, and you are not hampered by fear of what others may think, of how financially profitable this will or will not be, or what the end result will look like. You are not hampered by these fears because you understand this: all outcomes are up to God, who loves you. So even hard, painful days can move your life forward.
When we live in freedom, people will misunderstand us, call us naïve, and judge us when things don’t appear to go well. But we are free enough not to care! Now that’s a Jesus kind of audacity.
Photo by Kelly via Pexels.
Today in 31 Days with St. Ignatius, consider Call in the Spiritual Exercises with Fr. Kevin O’Brien, SJ. Use the hashtag #31DayswithIgnatius on your favorite social media channels, and share the ways you’ve been touched by St. Ignatius and the spiritual outlook that bears his name.
Thanks Vinita. Indeed Ignatian Freedom liberates. History is replete with true stories of launching and relaunching of justice-centered worldbuilding projects – liberating humankind down the centuries and across the Planet.
Thank you, Vinita. I am currently on retreat and dealing with anxiety and fears that have drawn me away from my relationship with Christ. I do want spiritual freedom and am hoping for Gods will be done. Pray for me, please.