What a Great Gift this Man has Left to the Universal Church in the Spiritual Exercises!
Let us all celebrate his life today. Thought I would share a short video done by Fr. James Martin, S.J. about the Life of Ignatius to help us all acknowledge the power of conversion and transformation when we turn our lives over to Jesus. Enjoy!
Questions to Ponder:
What, if anything, do you resonate with about St. Ignatius’ life?
How might he help you Find God in All Things?
How does his life and the Society of Jesus that he founded help you recognize the importance of both action and contemplation?
Feel Free to “cut and paste” any of these texts for Prayer or Worship Aids and simply add this reference:
“Taken from the The Hopeless Romantic: Falling in Love with God site of Patti Clement. www.patticlement.wordpress.com Used with Permission.”
God Will Do Amazing Things When We Strive to Live In Step with the Holy Spirit and Live Out His Most Holy Will!
One year ago today, I launched this website after much prayer and discernment.
For several years, retreatants had been asking me if I had a website at the end of retreats. I would squirm and admit that I did not. The Lord used many others to help me see His path clearly, but particularly one retreatant in early 2012 at Ignatius House in Atlanta jolted me into serious discernment.
Our Dialogue:
Male Retreatant: “Do you have a website that we could follow to get regular spiritual reflections, follow what books you might suggest, look for where and when you will be directing future retreats, and find other Ignatian Spirituality resources?”
Me: “No, I have considered a website and have been asked by many others this same question, but I really don’t have the skills to develop a website.”
Male Retreatant: “I will do it for you. You really need to keep this going for us.”
Me: “Oh, how generous, but I could never allow you to do that for me. That is a lot of hard work. I will continue to pray about your request and see where the Lord leads me.”
I continued to pray about the many requests and pay attention to the Holy Spirit active around me and within me. At the beginning of Summer 2012, I was on staff at Montserrat in Dallas teaching others how to lead preached retreats and one of the participants and I began sharing about a book she was in the process of publishing. I was really excited for her and also really interested because several professors had recently suggested I publish some of my papers. One thing led to another and we began discussing publishing in general and how she had a website. She shared with me how she had used WordPress and she was very encouraging about how I, too, should pursue the tutorial and launch my own site. What a gift she was from God!
My Path of Discernment was not Unique
It included many periods along the way and took several years. I used one of the many gifts of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, steps to good discernment from the Rules of Discernmentto help me:
Praying for guidance and clarity
Gathering data and facts and making a lists of pros and cons
Praying for empowerment and light to see God’s will
Getting really excited and Being discouraged
Praying to know His will and purity of heartabout motives
Feeling empowered and Experiencing doubt
Praying for Knowledge and Spiritual Freedom(Holy Indifference) needed to accept whatever God really wanted
Visualizing what the website would look like and Paying Attention to Interior Movements
Praying for Obstacles to be Removed and looking for Feelings of Consolation about Choices
Making a Decision to proceed with website
Praying for those who helped me along the way and looking for God in all Things
Getting scared about not doing it right
Praying to dismiss the Unholy Spiritthat often comes in Discouragement, Fear and Doubt
Taking steps to Design the site
Praying with Requests from Previous Retreatants and for the Lord to use me to Deliver what was requested
Launching the Site
Prayers of Thanksgiving for the Guidance I received, both Divinely and Earthly
Being Affirmed in my Decision to Launch the Site by the many emails and comments
Continued Prayers for Humility to always stay rooted in Jesus Christ and what He wants me to share on an ongoing basis
I am humbled and stand in awe each time I receive a message or comment from someone about how my sharing has helped them. Did I ever think I could launch this site and keep it current? No…but With God All Things are Possible!
I am also amazed with the far-reaching implications of the internet. Through the internet I have been able to touch lives I may never be able to visit in person. Did I ever think I could reach people all over the world? No….but With God All Things are Possible!
In one year, I have had approximately 8000 views on this site and have reached my brothers and sisters in 80+ countries all over the world. Only God could do this!
Questions to Ponder:
Is there something in your own life that you may be thinking you don’t have the skills to do?
What does the Lord say about your situation?
Have you taken it to prayer?
Are you ready to seriously discern what God wants?
I hope and pray that my discernment process shared above helps you in some way. I am truly humbled and grateful for the privilege I’ve been given to enter into your sacred space. Thank you for a year of journeying together and I look forward to many more. God Bless!
Feel Free to “cut and paste” any of these texts for Prayer or Worship Aids and simply add this reference:
“Taken from the The Hopeless Romantic: Falling in Love with God site of Patti Clement. www.patticlement.wordpress.com Used with Permission.”
The Hopeless Romantic: Falling in Love with God 