To read one of the following essays which have recently appeared in "This Week's Essay" section of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality's home page, click on the title.

“Good Things” - We can readily imagine that Jesus chose his words carefully, moved by his love for us.

Our Healer - Whatever leads us to God – even pain or illness - is an occasion for receiving an experience of love.

Unconscious Faith - Our bond with God grows and changes over time.

God and Summer - God is ready to encounter us in ways uniquely adapted to our summer doings.

“Good Things”

One of my favorite Scripture verses offers a very sound motive and a quite reasonable criterion for choosing when to speak and when to remain silent: “Say only the good things people need to hear, things that will really help them.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Two reflective questions for us before we speak are: “What do people need to hear from us?” and “What can we say that will really help them?” These questions are quite different from the more familiar: “What do we feel like saying?” And, brief as the time and effort required for reflecting on the purpose and benefits of speaking or not speaking, we know from much experience that we can easily produce words and expressions that no one needs and that are less than helpful to our hearers.

What an excellent motive to employ when saying something to a child, or for speaking up at a meeting, or for writing a note: “whatever will really help them.” To consider the possible effects of what we say or choose not to say and being concerned about how our words might be of assistance or a hindrance to others in their life journeys is definitely an opportunity for us to act in agreement with God. We can readily imagine that Jesus chose his words carefully, moved by his love for us.

Believing that God wants what is best for everyone, we can depend upon God to give us inspirations either to find the right words or to avoid communicating, whichever will benefit those we have in mind. When our concern is the welfare of others, we will not intend hurt or harm. Painful misunderstandings can arise, but there is no real injury when our honest desire is to be of help.

Even as children, we probably were taught: “If you have nothing good to say about a person, say nothing at all.” Respect for others is not age-specific. We certainly do not want to approve of negative behavior in others, and we have a responsibility to defend the common good. Most of us have had to speak a hard truth to a misbehaving child or to a peer whose actions or words were out of place. But there is no one whom God does not love, and God asks us to reflect this truth in all our modes of communication with everyone from family members to complete strangers.

Anger is a powerful emotion, providing us with instant energy. If we speak or write from anger primarily as a means of release, we will probably add to the kind of pain and injustice that might have elicited our feelings of anger in the first place. The same God who created us in love is as capable of guiding us in our use of anger-energy as with our most calm and collected moments. Rather than tear down with anger, we might find that, with the near-instantaneous grace of choosing rather than reacting, we are enabled to communicate a truth that someone needs to hear, that can really help him or her. We know that in some circumstances, only forceful words will convey the appropriate level of authority.

The passage from Ephesians invites us to pay attention to the end results of what we communicate to others, whether face to face, text-messaging, on the phone, speaking in a group setting or making use of the media. God’s good inspirations move us to want “good things” for all who receive our words.

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Our Healer

From “baby aspirin” to Vicodin, we have a wide range of medications available that can diminish muscle aches or reduce intense pain. We can thank God that both nature and human ingenuity have provided us with means to lessen some of the physical and emotional suffering that can at times wholly occupy our consciousness, or at other times touch us less strongly.

Pain-killers often promote healing, or afford us an opportunity for healing to take place, but they do not usually heal the causes of chronic or momentary pain. If we have access to health-care, we seek healing, not just pain reduction. With wounds of the spirit or hurts of the heart, there are no medications available to help us. But we can find in God not only relief from pain, but healing as well. For any and all the suffering which can occur in our lives, our Creator prescribes nothing that we have to buy, but freely offers us healing that begins as soon as we ask – healing not only for injuries we receive from others, but for the disappointments and frustrations that we have taken upon ourselves.

When we consult with medical practitioners, we relate our symptoms, so that they can correctly identify the appropriate measures that will promote healing. We might also go through a series of tests as a prelude to diagnosis. When we turn to God as healer, it is of great importance to “name the hurt.” We do this, not to provide information that God could possibly need, but, through the use of thoughts and words, we become fully aware of what we are experiencing. We not only have pain, and a precipitating cause, but most importantly, we have trust that God can and will respond positively to our request for help. Consciously bringing our concern directly to the Healer is the beginning of the healing process.

If we were to tell a doctor which medicine to prescribe, and precisely what procedure to use, we might receive a polite smile, or we might be invited to look for help elsewhere. When we seek God’s gift of healing for anything from a minor disappointment to a grievous injury, we will experience healing in proportion to the trust we exercise. For example, if we implicitly “tell” God that the way to heal our broken heart is to restore the particular relationship we had cherished, we limit the options of our infinitely wise and loving Healer. When we focus on bringing our pain to the Lord, rather than on our presumed or preferred solutions, the miracle of healing can begin immediately.

When we listen to others describe their pains, whether of body, mind, or spirit, we might not be able to do anything other than to manifest our care and respect for them. As we know from those who have been compassionate with us in our needs, every bit of love and care is welcome and helpful. We give and accept love for the healing and helpful gift that it is. God’s love is, when we experience it, radically healing. Though we do well not to tell God how to heal our hurts, we are most welcome to ask God for an experience of love, which does initiate, sustain, and complete every kind of healing.

If we can look back at one or more of the times when we have honestly sought God’s help with some need for healing – whether a heartache from being neglected, a debilitating illness, or a recent hurt of any kind, we might recognize that our relationship with God grew, deepened, and become more significant for us. Every time we encounter the healing love of God, we are in some manner changed; over time, we become habituated to bringing our hurts to God more quickly, and with greater confidence.

Whatever leads us to God – even pain or illness - is an occasion for receiving an experience of love. God, as Healer, is also Lover.

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Unconscious Faith

When we ask someone if he or she is willing to assist us with a written recommendation, we are quite conscious that we are putting our trust in that person. When we ask God to help us to deal with a challenge, we exercise our faith consciously. If we call on friends or family members to help us with a project, we do not even think about the degree of reliance we have on them; our focus only needs to be on the task at hand. In our busy lives, we often commit our resources of body, mind, and spirit to a variety of actions, and are not conscious of the abiding and supportive trust we have in God for making sound choices.

The effects of faith, trust, reliance, assurance, or confidence that we bring to our relationships with people and with God is of great importance. We do not bring any one of these qualities to apply without relying on our experiences and our set of values. Nor do we exercise them in the same way all the time. We will likely weigh the pros and cons of entrusting ourselves to a driver who has a reputation for speeding and paying more attention to conversations than to driving. But we might give little thought to relying on familiar movements of inspiration in committing ourselves to a task, even one that will require hard work and some sacrifice. We have developed habits for readily making some acts of trust, and of cautious discernment about others.

Our concern is not about whether conscious faith is better or less good than unconscious trust, because our spirituality is primarily a unique relationship with God, and only secondarily a path or way of life governed by rules with universal application to all circumstances. With some of the challenges we face, we sense a need to first stop and pray, while with others we are sure that we should proceed immediately in making a decision. In and through all, we do trust God’s love for us.

Our bond with God grows and changes over time. Through reflection on our experiences we become familiar with some of the ways that God works within us, so that we rely on them; at other times we recognize that we are under some negative influences, either internal or external, and had best not make any decisions in keeping with those pressures. We are at times aware of the spontaneous confidence we have in God working within our freedom to choose, our patterns of thinking and reasoning, and within our emotions and interior senses, just as we also are familiar with how anger and fear make it difficult to trust. When we resonate with the Spirit, we can move forward in unconscious faith; when we are pushed and pulled in opposite directions, we might have more need to exercise conscious faith, appealing to God for healing, guidance, or support – whatever we might need.

Faith that operates in our habits of mind and heart is certainly not of less value than that which we exercise in our petitions and prayers. Much of what we do and say each day relies upon the gift and grace of our unconscious faith.

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God and Summer

In the northern hemisphere, summer officially begins on the longest day of the year, in late June. The days grow shorter all through the following months, although the weather typically becomes warmer - at least during July and August. But summer means much more to us than a correlation between shorter days and higher temperatures.

When we think of summer, what comes to mind? We might consider vacations, outdoor events, gatherings with family and friends, or travel; rest, changes in daily habits, or reading a book. The season and the weather are factors, but those provide only the occasion and the environment. We give meaning and purpose to the summer through the decisions we make about our occupations.

God is ready to encounter us in ways uniquely adapted to our summer doings. We have the capacity and the responsibility of saying “yes” or “no” to any and all inspirations, suggestions, opportunities, and graces that are offered to us. The weather and the seasons are outside our control. But as we take into account the daily temperature when we select clothing and locations for events, we can also consciously attend to the movements of the Spirit in us as we plan outings, family reunions, and volunteer service.

God created the weather and the seasons, which are for us immovable and unchangeable forces. But, as vulnerable and weak humans, we are privileged with the capacity for personal contact with God, who is immediately accessible and responsive to us. Summer is for many of us a time when schedules vary more than during the rest of the year, providing opportunities for noting the beauty of our surroundings and the closeness of our Creator.

During the summer, we can call a friend and suggest a walk together; we will make arrangements about a meeting place and a destination so that we can enjoy one another’s company. When we call upon God, we are together even in the desire to make contact. We can experience being in close companionship without the need to move from one place to another, for we are already together. Our thoughts and feelings, as in any conversation or walk with a friend, can be light and cheerful, intense and tearful, or anything and everything in between.

This summer, if we wish, we can take some times - momentary or more lengthy periods – for “vacations with God” that will cost nothing, require no planning or packing, and yet be occasions of refreshment, restoration, and re-creation. God and summer go well together.

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This page last updated on August 23, 2008