“Pope
Francis is a Jesuit, formed in the spirituality of the Spiritual Exercises. So
it’s not surprising that he zeroed in on one of the central ideas of Ignatian
spirituality when he found himself in front of a group of students from Jesuit
high schools last June. That idea is
freedom.
“Each
of us has a part to play in the great drama of Christ’s work to save and heal
the world, and our challenge is to learn what that work is and to choose to do
it. This is what we most deeply desire, but there’s a problem. We desire many
things—a rewarding career, friends and lovers, good health, security, comfort,
a good reputation, peace of mind, and many more. In the midst of all these
desires and options and goals, how do we focus on the most important thing—to
love and serve God and other people?
“The
answer, Pope Francis said, is freedom. We need to be free from what Ignatius
called “disordered attachments”—those wants and yearnings, some good, some not
so good, that can govern our decisions and ultimately control our lives. It’s
no small task. Francis wasn’t kidding when he said that being free
is demanding. It requires a great deal of discernment, prayer, reflection, and
grace to sort through the confusion of desires and attachments and find what it
is that we most deeply desire.
“Ignatius
believed that our deepest, truest desires have been placed in our hearts by
God. So when we finally find what we really want, we find what God wants too.
That’s the promise of freedom.” (dotMagis – Ignatian Spirituality, Being Free is Demanding, Posted 22 April
2014 )
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