There is only Christ

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We've ended this month of July rather as we began it, with pleasantly warm - rather than unbearably hot - weather, and with a Sunday trumping a saint's feast. On Sunday 3rd it was St Thomas, one of Jesus' earlier disciples; today it's St Ignatius of Loyola, a later, but no less whole-hearted, fervently loving companion. 

On such occasions I like to see if the confluence of a specific date with wherever we are in the liturgical cycle might give us readings appropriate for the unobserved saint or feast. If the day's saint wanted to send us a message via the randomness of that particular Sunday's scripture, what would it be? Today, I found this confluence, and this message from Ignatius, in a line at the end of the second reading: There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything. (Col 3:11)

There is only Christ: he is everything... At the end of the Exercises Ignatius prays - and encourages the exercitant to pray - Give me only your love and your grace: they are enough for me. And by 'enough' I don't think Ignatius means 'adequate', or 'a passable amount'; rather, this is everything we need; all our wealth - and more. And unlike the man in today's Gospel parable, building bigger barns in order to stockpile his wealth, Ignatius encourages us to desire only the wealth of a surfeit of Love, and of grace. We don't need bigger cupboards or containers, he'd say, only bigger, wider, more spacious hearts, open to receive God's abundance. 

And he is in everything... Ignatius learned to find God in all things, and in all people and circumstances; the difficult as well as the delightful: he learned to become sensitive to God's presence and grace, in all aspects of everyday life, as much as in the more remarkable moments. And really, it is sensitivity to God's presence and action in those ordinary moments which can transform them into extraordinary opportunities for growth and for grace. 

There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything... How are we being called to live this with greater depth and intention?


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