Prayer: Guigo the Carthusian

By reading the Scriptures and by meditating, Lord, I have read your words and meditated on your person for more years than I can remember. Over the years, the fire of desire to see you has grown. As I have meditated, my soul has received greater light, and the Scriptures excite my soul more than ever. Give me a single drop of heavenly rain to satisfy my spiritual thirst.

Song: "By the Waters of Babylon" by Benedetto Marcello

By the waters of Babylon there we sat down,
we sat down and wept.
There our harps we hanged on the willow trees,
for they that wasted us required mirth and song.
Come sing, come sing, come sing one of Zion's songs!

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
If I do not remember you, let me tongue cleave to my mouth.
If I prize not Jerusalem, Jerusalem above my joy.

Prayer: Ancient Jewish prayer

Blessed are you, Lord our God. By your word, you bring on the evening twilight. In wisdom, you open the gates of dawn and with foresight make time pass and seasons change. You set the stars in their courses in the sky. You create day and night, turning light into darkness and darkness into light, for you are the Lord of the hosts of heaven. Blessed are you, Lord, who brings on the evening twilight.

Prayer: Anselm of Canterbury

Lord, my heart is before you. I try, but by myself I can do nothing. Do what I cannot. Admit me to the inner room of your love. I ask. I seek. I knock. You have made me ask; make me receive. You have enabled me to seek; enable me to find. You have taught me to knock; open to my knock.

The Most Holy Trinity

Ignatian Spirituality: Set the World Ablaze

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The Most Holy Trinity

May 31, 2015

Deuteronomy 4:32-24, 39-40; Psalm 33; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20

            The feast of the Holy Trinity celebrates the rich ways God is in relationship with us. Moses begins by calling our attention back to the Creating God who made a splendid world for our enjoyment. He reminds the people of our history with God, which proves God has always been on our side. Moses shows us that God gives us everything we need and only asks that we keep the commandments in response to God’s generosity. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, tells us the Spirit adopts us into God’s family and protects us the way a loving parent does. In Matthew, the risen Christ, who celebrates his victory over the forces of the world, promises his solidarity as the believers go out to the world and bring the good news.

            In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola asks us to imagine the Triune God as we enter into the vision of God – the mystery of divinity shared by three persons. In the contemplation we are invited to look upon our world to see it from God’s viewpoint. God sees men and women being born and being laid to rest, some getting married and others divorced, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the happy and the sad, so many people aimless, despairing, hateful, and killing, so many undernourished, sick, and dying, so many struggling with life and blind to any meaning. With God, I can hear people laughing and crying, some shouting and screaming, some praying, others cursing.

            We are also able to witness the leap of divine joy. God knows that the time has come when the mystery of salvation, hidden from the beginning of the world, will shine into human darkness and confusion. It is as if I can hear the Divine Persons saying, “Let us work the redemption of the whole human race; let us respond to the groaning of all creation.” How does the Trinity respond? O wonder of wonders! It is determined that the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, will take human flesh as Jesus of Nazareth and become Emmanuel, that is, God is with us.

            From this imaginative prayer, we see certain things about God. (1.) God uses various means, because of God’s three-fold nature, to reach us. God is rather inventive. God speaks to us directly, then gives the Law, sends prophets and teaches us Wisdom, and finally sends a part of God’s own self to bond with us (2.) God has great emotions – mostly in response to our plight. Notice the leap of divine joy and the relief the Trinity feels when the long-awaited moment of salvation can finally start. (3.) Because of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, we are ever closer to God and God is never going to stop reaching out to each and every person. God will exhaust every possibility of inviting us to closer friendship.

            We can celebrate our Trinitarian God today by saying thanks as we remember the many times God showed up to communicate care to us. When God did not see present, we can ask about those times, “Where you there for me? I did not see you.” We can have God remind us of our personal story of friendship where we sit back and let God do all the remembering for us. God might have something new to reveal about moments we thought were settled. We can simply relax and enjoy that God is going to keep working gently and through hidden means to reach into our conscious world just to let us know that God is always recreating, redeeming, and sustaining us. With God, it is always onwards and upwards towards a new day.

            Trinity Sunday is a day for us to have simple communication with God because, after all, communicating well is a supreme act of love. God is always sharing with us; today is our day to share back with God in response to this great kindness. Be creative. Be inventive in the ways you will speak with God today. Let yourself be surrounded by awe and beauty because this is what God desires for you. Take and receive the goodness God provides; return to God a grateful soul. God’s Triune presence, in the beginning and the end, is enough for us all.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: 

Monday: (Tobit 1) Tobit sent his son, Tobiah, out to find a poor pious man to have dinner with hm. Tobiah reported that one of his countrymen was murdered. Tobit had him brought to his house so he could bury him after dusk.

Tuesday: (Tobit 2) At nightfall, Tobit slept in the courtyard with his head uncovered. Birds dropped waste into his eyes, which formed cataracts and cause blindness. His wife Anna was skilled with weaving and she was paid handsomely for her craft and given a goat as gift. Tobit became angry; Anna said, “Your true nature can now be seen.”

Wednesday: (Tobit 3) Grief-stricken in spirit, Tobit groans and weeps loudly. Raguel was afflicted by the daemon Asmodeus, but she would not succumb. When she praised the Lord in prayer, Raphael was sent to heal Tobit’s eyesight and to marry Raquel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah.   

Thursday: (Tobit 6) Raguel explains Sarah’s history to Tobiah and declares the marriage was decided in heaven. Tobiah and Sarah happily go to bed and the curse that belonged to Sarah was no longer present.   

Friday (Tobit 11) When Tobiah returns to his family home, his mother is relieved. Tobiah brings fish gall to cure his father’s eyes, but Tobit can see again. All in Nineveh rejoice.   

Saturday (Tobit 12) Tobit demanded the Tobiah compensate Raphael generously. Raphael gives advice and then discloses that he is one of the seven Archangels and that he petitioned God to cure Tobit and Sarah.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Mark 12) Jesus tells a parable about a man who planted a vineyard and gave it to tenant farmers before he went on a journey. On his return, he finds wicked tenants have killed the farmers and the man’s son. The owner put the men to death and gave the vineyards to others. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Tuesday: (Mark 12) Some Pharisees and Herodians are intent to ensnare Jesus in his speech. They ask whether it is lawful to pay the census tax. Give to Caesar his due; Give God his due.

Wednesday (Mark 12) The Sadducees, who profess there is no resurrection, ask Jesus about divorce. Jesus tells them that people are alive to God in death and there is no need for marrying. God is the God of the living, not the dead.  

Thursday (Mark 12) A scribe asks Jesus about the first of all the commandments. When he answers, “Love the Lord God with all your strength and your neighbor as yourself,” Jesus declares that he is not far from the kingdom of God.

Friday (Mark 12) Jesus discusses the kinship of the Christ as a descendent of the Lord David.

Saturday (Mark 12) Jesus warns people to beware of the scribes that are hypocritical because they like glory and honor at the expense of vulnerable people. He lauds the poor widow who put into the temple treasury two small coins.

Saints of the Week

May 31: Visitation of the Virgin Mary commemorates the visit of Mary in her early pregnancy to Mary, who is reported to be her elder cousin. Luke writes about the shared rejoicing of the two women - Mary's conception by the Holy Spirit and Elizabeth's surprising pregnancy in her advanced years. Elizabeth calls Mary blessed and Mary sings her song of praise to God, the Magnificat.

June 1: Justin, martyr (100-165), was a Samaritan philosopher who converted to Christianity and explained doctrine through philosophical treatises. His debating opponent reported him to the Roman authorities who tried him and when he refused to sacrifice to the gods, was condemned to death.

June 2: Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs (d. 304) died in Rome during the Diocletian persecution. Peter was an exorcist who ministered under the well-regarded priest, Marcellinus. Stories are told that in jail they converted their jailer and his family. These men are remembered in Eucharistic prayer I.

June 3: Charles Lwanga and 22 companion martyrs from Uganda (18660-1886) felt the wrath of King Mwanga after Lwanga and the White Fathers (Missionaries of Africa) censured him for his cruelty and immorality. The King determined to rid his kingdom of Christians. He persecuted over 100 Christians, but upon their death new converts joined the church.

June 5: Boniface, bishop and martyr (675-754), was born in England and raised in a Benedictine monastery. He became a good preacher and was sent to the northern Netherlands as a missionary. Pope Gregory gave him the name Boniface with an edict to preach to non-Christians. We was made a bishop in Germany and gained many converts when he cut down the famed Oak of Thor and garnered no bad fortune by the Norse gods. Many years later non-Christians killed him when he was preparing to confirm many converts. The church referred to him as the "Apostle of Germany."

June 6: Norbert, bishop (1080-1134), a German, became a priest after a near-death experience. He became an itinerant preacher in northern France and established a community founded on strict asceticism. They became the Norbertines and defended the rights of the church against secular authorities.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      May 31, 1900. The new novitiate of the Buffalo Mission, St Stanislaus, in South Brooklyn, Ohio, near Cleveland, is blessed.

·      Jun 1, 1527. Ignatius was thrown into prison after having been accused of having advised two noblewomen to undertake a pilgrimage, on foot, to Compostella.

·      Jun 2, 1566. The Professed House was opened in Toledo. It became well known for the fervor of its residents and the wonderful effects of their labors.

·      Jun 3, 1559. A residence at Frascati, outside of Rome, was purchased for the fathers and brothers of the Roman College.

·      Jun 4, 1667. The death in Rome of Cardinal Sforza Pallavicini, a man of great knowledge and humility. While he was Prefect of Studies of the Roman College he wrote his great work, The History of the Council of Trent.

·      Jun 5, 1546. Paul III, in the document Exponi Nobis, empowered the Society to admit coadjutors, both spiritual and temporal.

·      Jun 6, 1610. At the funeral of Henry IV in Paris, two priests preaching in the Churches of St Eustace and St Gervase denounced the Jesuits as accomplices in his death. This was due primarily to the book De Rege of Father Mariana.

La Santísima Trinidad

La Santísima Trinidad

31 de mayo 2015

Deuteronomio 4: 32-24, 39-40; Salmo 33; Romanos 8: 14-17; Mateo 28: 16-20

La Santísima Trinidad celebra la rica relación que Dios tiene con nosotros. Moisés nos llama la atención sobre la Creación de Dios que hizo un espléndido mundo para disfrutar. Él nos recuerda nuestra larga historia con Dios para probar que Dios siempre ha estado de nuestro lado. Dios nos da todo lo que necesitamos y sólo pide que guardemos los mandamientos en respuesta a la generosidad de Dios. San Pablo en Romanos nos dice que el Espíritu nos adopta en la familia de Dios y nos protege como un padre amoroso. En Mateo, Cristo resucitado celebra su victoria eterna y promete solidaridad como los creyentes salen al mundo con las buenas nuevas.

En los Ejercicios Espirituales, Ignacio de Loyola nos pide que imaginemos el Dios Triuno como entramos en la visión de Dios - el misterio de la divinidad compartido por tres personas. En la contemplación nos invita a mirar a nuestro mundo para verlo desde la perspectiva de Dios. Dios ve a los hombres y mujeres que nacen y se sentaron a descansar, algunos van a casar y otros divorciados, los viejos y los jóvenes, los ricos y los pobres, los felices y los tristes, a tanta gente sin rumbo, desesperado, de odio, y el asesinato, tantos desnutridos, enfermos y moribundos, tantos que luchan con la vida y ciego a cualquier significado. Con Dios, puedo oír a la gente riendo y llorando, algunos gritando y gritando, algunos rezando, otros maldiciendo.

También estamos en condiciones de presenciar el salto de alegría divina. Dios sabe que ha llegado el momento en que el misterio de la salvación, oculto desde el principio del mundo, brillará en la oscuridad humana y la confusión. Es como si yo puedo escuchar las Personas divinas diciendo: "Vamos a trabajar la redención de toda la raza humana; respondamos al gemido de toda la creación. "¿Cómo responde la Trinidad? O maravilla de maravillas! Se determina que la Segunda Persona de la Trinidad, Dios el Hijo, se llevará a la carne humana como Jesús de Nazaret y ser Emmanuel, es decir, Dios está con nosotros.
De esta oración imaginativa, vemos ciertas cosas acerca de Dios. (1.) Dios usa diversos meansto alcanzarnos. Dios es más inventivo. Dios nos habla directamente, entonces da la Ley, envía profetas y nos enseña la sabiduría, y finalmente envía una parte del propio ser de Dios para unir con nosotros (2.) Dios tiene grandes emociones - en su mayoría en respuesta a nuestra situación. Observe el salto de alegría divina y el alivio de la Trinidad se siente cuando el momento tan esperado de la salvación puede finalmente comenzar. (3) A causa de la muerte y resurrección de Jesús, estamos cada vez más cerca de Dios y Dios nunca va a dejar de llegar a todos y cada uno. Dios va a agotar todas las posibilidades de que nos invita a acercarse amistad.

Celebramos nuestro Dios Trinitario hoy diciendo gracias al recordar las muchas veces que Dios comunicó la atención a nosotros. Cuando Dios no parecía la actualidad, podemos preguntar acerca de esos tiempos: "¿Dónde estás ahí para mí? Yo no verte. "Podemos tener a Dios nos recuerdan nuestra historia personal de la amistad para que podamos sentarnos y dejar que Dios haga todo el recuerdo para nosotros. Dios podría tener algo nuevo que revelar acerca de los momentos que pensamos se resolvieron. Simplemente relajarse y disfrutar de que Dios está obrando con cuidado y en silencio para llegar a nuestro mundo consciente sólo para hacernos saber que Dios siempre está recreando, redentora y sosteniéndonos. Con Dios, es siempre adelante y hacia arriba hacia un nuevo día.

Domingo de la Trinidad es un día para que nos comuniquemos con Dios simplemente porque buena comunicación es un acto supremo de amor. Dios siempre acciones; hoy es nuestro día a compartir de nuevo con Dios en respuesta a esta gran bondad. Ser creativo. Sé creativa en las formas en las que hablará con Dios hoy. Déjese rodeado de asombro y belleza, porque esto es lo que Dios desea para usted. Tome y recibir la bondad que Dios ofrece; volver a Dios un alma agradecida. Presencia de Dios Uno y Trino, en el principio y el fin, es suficiente para todos nosotros.

Temas para las misas de esta semana

Primera Lectura:
Lunes: (Tobías 1) Tobías envió a su hijo, Tobías, a buscar a un hombre piadoso pobres a cenar con hm. Tobías informó que uno de sus compatriotas fue asesinado. Tobías tenía lo llevó a su casa para que pudiera enterrar después del anochecer.
Martes: (Tobías 2) Al caer la noche, Tobit dormía en el patio con la cabeza descubierta. Los pájaros cayeron residuos en sus ojos, que formaron las cataratas y causa ceguera. Su esposa Anna era hábil con el tejido y le pagaron generosamente por su oficio y se le dio una cabra como regalo. Tobías se enojó; Anna dijo: "Su verdadera naturaleza se puede ver ahora."
Miércoles: (Tobías 3) La pena herido en espíritu, gemidos Tobit y llora a gritos. Ragüel afligido por el demonio Asmodeo, pero no iba a sucumbir. Cuando ella alabó al Señor en la oración, Rafael fue enviado a sanar la vista de Tobit y se case con la hija de Sarah Raquel al hijo de Tobías Tobías.
Jueves: (Tobías 6) Ragüel explica la historia de Sarah a Tobías y declara que el matrimonio se decidió en el cielo. Tobías y Sara felizmente van a la cama y la maldición que perteneció a Sarah ya no estaba presente.
Viernes (Tobías 11) Cuando Tobías regresa a su casa de la familia, su madre se alivia. Tobías trae hiel del pez para curar los ojos de su padre, pero Tobías puede ver. En Nínive se regocijan.
Sábado (Tobías 12) Tobit exigió la Tobías compensar Raphael generosamente. Raphael da consejos y luego da a conocer que él es uno de los siete arcángeles y que él pidió a Dios para curar Tobías y Sara.

Evangelio:
Lunes: (Marcos 12) Jesús cuenta una parábola acerca de un hombre que plantó una viña, y se lo dio a los arrendatarios antes de que él se fue de viaje. A su regreso, encuentra labradores malvados han matado a los agricultores y el hijo del hombre. El propietario puso a los hombres a la muerte y le dio a los viñedos a los demás. La piedra que desecharon los arquitectos es ahora la piedra angular.
Martes: (Marcos 12) Algunos fariseos y herodianos son la intención de atrapar a Jesús en su discurso. Preguntan si es lícito pagar el impuesto del censo. Dad al César lo que le corresponde; Dale a Dios lo que le corresponde.
Miércoles (Marcos 12) Los saduceos, que profesan no hay resurrección, pregunta a Jesús sobre el divorcio. Jesús les dice que las personas son vivos para Dios en la muerte y no hay necesidad de casarse. Dios es el Dios de los vivos, no los muertos.
Jueves (Marcos 12) Un escriba pregunta a Jesús sobre el primero de todos los mandamientos. Cuando él contesta: "Amarás al Señor Dios con todas tus fuerzas y tu prójimo como a ti mismo," Jesús declara que él no está lejos del reino de Dios.
Viernes (Marcos 12) Jesús discute el parentesco del Cristo como un descendiente del Señor David.
Sábado (Marcos 12) Jesús advierte a las personas que tengan cuidado de los escribas que son hipócritas porque les gusta la gloria y el honor, a expensas de las personas vulnerables. Él alaba la viuda pobre que puso en el tesoro del templo dos moneditas.

Santos de la Semana

31 mayo: Visitación de la Virgen María conmemora la visita de María en su embarazo precoz a María, de quien se dice ser su primo mayor. Lucas escribe acerca de la alegría compartida de las dos mujeres - la concepción de María por el Espíritu Santo y sorprendente embarazo de Elizabeth en sus años avanzados. Isabel llama a María bendecido y María canta su canto de alabanza a Dios, el Magnificat.

01 de junio: Justino, mártir (100-165), fue un filósofo Samaritano que se convirtió al cristianismo y explicó la doctrina a través de tratados filosóficos. Su oponente debatir lo denunció a las autoridades romanas que lo intentaron y cuando se negó a ofrecer sacrificios a los dioses, fue condenado a muerte.

2 de junio: Marcelino y Pedro, mártires (. D 304) murieron en Roma durante la persecución de Diocleciano. Pedro era un exorcista quien ministró bajo el sacerdote bien considerado, Marcelino. Se cuentan historias de que en la cárcel se convirtieron su carcelero y su familia. Estos hombres son recordados en la oración eucarística I.

3 de junio: Charles Lwanga y 22 compañeros mártires de Uganda (18660-1886) sintió la ira del rey Mwanga después Lwanga y los Padres Blancos (Misioneros de África) lo censuró por su crueldad e inmoralidad. El Rey decidido a liberar a su reino de los cristianos. Él persiguió a más de 100 cristianos, pero tras su fallecimiento los nuevos conversos se unió a la iglesia.

5 de junio: Bonifacio, obispo y mártir (675-754), nació en Inglaterra y se crió en un monasterio benedictino. Se convirtió en un buen predicador y fue enviado al norte de Holanda como misionero. Papa Gregorio le dio el nombre de Bonifacio con un edicto para predicar a los no cristianos. Nos fue nombrado obispo en Alemania y ganamos muchos conversos cuando se cortó por el famoso roble de Thor y obtuvo ninguna mala fortuna por los dioses nórdicos. Muchos años más tarde no cristianos lo mataron cuando se preparaba para confirmar muchos conversos. La iglesia se refirió a él como el "Apóstol de Alemania."

6 de junio: Norbert, obispo (1080-1134), un alemán, se convirtió en un sacerdote después de una experiencia cercana a la muerte. Se convirtió en un predicador itinerante en el norte de Francia y estableció una comunidad fundada en el estricto ascetismo. Se convirtieron en los Norbertines y defendieron los derechos de la Iglesia contra las autoridades seculares.

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

• 31 de mayo de 1900. El nuevo noviciado de la Misión de Buffalo, San Estanislao, en el sur de Brooklyn, Ohio, cerca de Cleveland, ha sido bendecida.
• 01 de junio de 1527. Ignacio fue arrojado a la cárcel después de haber sido acusado de haber asesorado a dos mujeres de la nobleza a emprender una peregrinación, a pie, a Compostela.
• 02 de junio, 1566. La Casa Profesa se inauguró en Toledo. Se hizo conocido por el fervor de sus residentes y los maravillosos efectos de su trabajo.
• 03 de junio de 1559. Una residencia en Frascati, en las afueras de Roma, fue comprado por los padres y hermanos del Colegio Romano.
• 04 de junio de 1667. La muerte en Roma del cardenal Sforza Pallavicini, un hombre de gran conocimiento y humildad. Mientras que él era Prefecto de Estudios del Colegio Romano, escribió su gran obra, La Historia del Concilio de Trento.
• 05 de junio de 1546. Pablo III, en el documento Exponi Nobis, facultó a la Sociedad que admitir coadjutores, tanto espirituales como temporales.
• 06 de junio de 1610. En el funeral de Enrique IV en París, dos sacerdotes que predican en las Iglesias de San Eustaquio y San Gervasio denunció los jesuitas como cómplices de su muerte. Esto se debió principalmente al libro De Rege del Padre Mariana.

Prayer: Teresa of Avila

Whoever truly loves you, good Lord, walks in safety down a royal road, far from the dangerous abyss – and if that one so much as stumbles, you, O Lord, stretch out your hand. Not one fall, or many, will cause you to abandon one who loves you and does not love the things of this world because that one walks in the vale of humility.

As the academic year ends...

Before we break…

This is the time to reflect upon our year as we look forward to the summer break. In an Ignatian way, we look back and savor so we can move forward – with courage and energy ever onwards and upwards.

A most important question to ask is, “Where was God in _____ moments of my year?” It is a very different question than, “Where did I find God in these moments of my year?” Simply put, we learn more about God when we give the remote control over to God who then has the freedom to reveal something that we might overlook. The best daily Examen question we can ever ask is, “Where are you God now for me?”

We strive for mutuality in our Examen as we realize the inherent power imbalance between Creator and the Created, but we trust that God wants the very best for us. When we give the remote control over to God, we rightly allow God to be placed in the proper role – as the merciful one who strives for our happiness. When we hold onto the clicker, we say, “I’ll be the judge and I’ll determine who is good and bad and what is right and wrong.” The problem is that we put ourselves in the role of God and we often judge ourselves much too harshly. It is far better for God to gaze upon us and to reveal how God feels about us because God will simply be astonished at who we are and who God has created. It is like parents who look upon their newborn and see the beautiful masterpiece they hold lovingly in their arms.

The Examen allows us to be gentle upon ourselves as we are a people who are striving to do the right and the just.

Therefore, be gentle upon yourselves these past few weeks. With the rush to get the end-of-year activities completed, keep yourselves open to the unexpected graces God and others want to offer you. Some will want to thank you for the presence you are to them. Some will want you to know that a word you spoke gave them hope to persevere. Some will want to approach with the hopes of building a better relationship or reconciling a past event. Some will miss you during the summer vacation and will try to communicate that to you. We are gifts to one another, but we have to receive each other as gift so we can truly appreciate it.

Give primacy to the relationships around you. The paperwork will get done. Experience the joy of being a gift to each other. Receive each other well and honor each other with a reverential silence. Words will not express…

Yes, do look back. Ask God to reveal God’s presence to you. Savor the richness, hold onto the memories that give you life, look forward to future promises of relationship. Then, we can go onwards and upwards knowing that your community of faith stands in solidarity with you.

Pentecost

Some regard Pentecost as the conclusion of the festive 50-day long Easter season. That it is, and more significantly it is the beginning of life in the spirit – a season without end. The sending forth of the Spirit continues the Risen Lord’s work of consolation to all believers. The gifts brought by the Spirit are: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I often like looking around the work environment to witness who has received the Spirit and who is need of being touched by this consoling presence. We participate is some way in the ministry of Jesus when we take away fear, give peace, and share the Gospel. Like the first Christians, we experience how Jesus fills our world.

            Ignatius describes how love communicates. The Suscipe (Take and Receive) is our response to a God who loves us so much that God wants to share everything as a gift. We naturally want to share with God just as God shares with us. Lovers share. Lovers do not take, leaving the other bereft.

            Communicating is an act of love.

            Ignatius suggests that what we first offer to share is our liberty, which leads to the generosity of a great-souled person. By offering our liberty, we communicate with God about our desire to be one with God in the divine will. The true gift is in the communicating, the very action whereby the potential which is ours is actualized in the sharing. A gift is not actualized until it is shared, and by sharing, we make ourselves available to God.

            We want to say what we share belongs to the one we love as much as it belongs to us. In our relationship with God, we confess that everything we have, God has given to us and we entrust everything to God in return. From the depths of our heart, we cry out that God’s love and grace are enough for us.