The First Principle
As I have been writing on the Ignatian spiritual exercises, I thought it would be helpful to share, “The Principle and Foundation” on which the exercises are founded:
Human beings are created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord … And the other things on the face of the Earth are created for human beings in order to help them pursue the end for which they are created.[1]
It follows from this that one must use other created things in so far as they help towards one’s end, and free one’s self from them in so far as they are obstacles to one’s end.
To do this we need to make ourselves indifferent to all created things, provided the matter is subject to our free choice and there is no prohibition (I simply love his pragmatic approach).
Thus, as far as we are concerned, we should not want wealth more than poverty, fame more than disgrace, a long life more than a short one, and similarly for all the rest, but we should desire and choose only what helps us more towards the end for which we are created.
This principle of open-handedness erodes at a common unspoken concept that has been part of my spiritual formation in my modern, evangelical, developed world context. This is the unspoken belief that my faith in God and my obedience to Him will keep suffering at bay and allow me to acquire more of those things that bring me happiness. The expectation leads to subtle temptation to judge every circumstance and event in my life as good or bad based on how well it feeds my insatiable desire for ease and the good life. A heart in such a posture is far from the one described by Ignatius.
If I want to live according to the Principle and Foundation, I have to look at all I have, acquire or experience, and decide if I should hold onto it. I must ask whether it is helping me grow closer to God. Otherwise, is it pulling me away from or dividing my love and heart loyalty? If so, I am better off without it… even if I do terribly enjoy it. (This is why I love this retreat, it gives me time to reflect deeply.)
Of course, the converse to this idea is also true: Even if things are not as I had hoped or expected, but I am drawing closer to God or can still worship, praise or serve God, then my greatest desire is still being fulfilled.
To grasp such concepts and be spiritually formed by them is not natural. It is supernatural. And this is the point of the entire retreat: to let God form us into the people we were created to be, people who live to love, praise, reverence and serve God.
[1] Ignatius would say that by this means, our souls are saved. I think a more modern theological understanding might be that love and faith should affect the way we live our lives, so that our salvation becomes evident.
Photo credit: @minkmingle
