Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Good Things

O God, who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love,
so that, loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.


We were struck by the beauty of this week's collect for Mass. As we seek to love God in all things and above all things, we rejoice because we find the Lord Jesus in all things we see and experience and yet all we experience only whets our appetite for more of Him. We are reminded of an admonition of Saint Ignatius of Loyola for scholastics:

they should practice the seeking of God's presence in all things, in their conversations, their walks, in all that they see, taste, hear, understand, and in all their actions, since His Divine Majesty is truly in all things by His presence, power, and essence. This kind of meditation, which finds God our Lord in all things, is easier than raising oneself to the consideration of divine truths, which are more abstract and which demand something of an effort, if we are to keep our attention on them. But this method is an excellent exercise to prepare us for great visitations of our Lord, even in prayers that are rather short.