Ignatius of Loyola 4: Hearing voices

On the 4th of July some years ago I was on retreat at Eastern Point, which is near Gloucester's harbor.  Sitting out on the rocks to pray, I kept hearing voices, names and tantalizing bits of sentences floating on the breeze.  To say I was distracted was an understatement.

The silence at Eastern Point is pretty profound and the waves pounding against the rocks tended to muffle any noise from the surrounding neighborhood, so voices caught my attention.  But I couldn't figure out where they were coming from, though they sounded nearby and vaguely mechanical.

I shared the mystery with my director, she hadn't heard them, but she hadn't been out of the house yet that day.  (To be clear, I was never in doubt that there was a ordinary explanation for the voices!) Out for my walk, the voices were louder, but not quite clear enough to catch more than a word or two.  As my walk took me across the small land bridge toward the harbor, I finally achieved clarity.  There was a Navy ship in the harbor, as part of the celebration of the 4th...and what I was hearing was its PA system.

At La Storta, as he headed to Rome with his companions in 1537, Ignatius heard voices, but unlike me, he heard God sending him to Rome, to be part of Jesus' company. I would guess that mystic is not the first association many people have with St. Ignatius, but Ignatius' early mystical experiences (and experiences that posed as such) are part of the ground from which Ignatius' rules for discernment of spirits grew.  (Read about the rules here and a longer but fascinating piece about Ignatius the mystic here.)

RevGalBlogPals: The Graces of Galship

The Wednesday festival (I note there are few more minutes left in Wednesday here) at the RevGalBlogPals features posts on galship, however that has played out for each of us.

I joined the RevGalBlogPal (RGBP) blog ring in May of 2007, though I'm not (and cannot be) a reverend.  (I'm Roman Catholic, that should tell you all you need to know on that score.)  I had been blogging steadily for a couple of years, on this blog and my chemistry blog, and somehow happened on the RGBP.  I enjoyed reading the various voices, each wrestling with the way God was present in their lives and in the lives of those they ministered to (some of the stories have stuck with me for years (one in particular involving a wind, a flaming tablecloth and a baptismal font that still makes me laugh in wonder).

I started writing occasional posts for the RGBP blog, the first of which might be this review of Into Great Silence (the film) and An Infinity of Little Hours (a book about the Carthusians) and still write for the Sunday Afternoon Music Video feature (except when I forget to check my calendar!).

I love that the ring can wrap itself around many denominations, and around those ordained, seeking ordination, or those for whom this was not an option.  I have never been to a BigEvent, but have had many friendships grow from the RevGals nonetheless.  Friends to write with, to play Scrabble with (as a Lenten discipline, no less), to share meals with, to share faith with virtually and in real life.  Paul's letters bound a community of faith together through time and space, so I'm not surprised that our writings draw us together, and ever grateful for the support I find here for the writing that I now do.

Ignatius of Loyola 3: Letters

I associate Ignatius with letters, not so much because of his prodigious output of letters, more than 7000, but because while I was away making his Spiritual Exercises, handwritten letters were how I stayed in touch with my kids.  The Boy was a wondrously faithful correspondent, writing me every third day; near the end, counting the breaths until I came home.

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Read Ignatius' letter of advice on writing letters here, a small selection of other letters from Ignatius here.

Ignatius of Loyola 2: In 1493

In 1493, Christopher Columbus left Spain with 17 ships, bound again for the Caribbean to establish settlements there.  Ignatius of Loyola was not quite two years old, but one of his older brothers was on the voyage.

When I was in college I read some of the contemporary accounts of the colonization attempts.  It was not gentle reading.

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"Inspiration of Christopher Columbus" by Jose Maria Obregon, 1856. From Wikimedia Commons.

Ignatius of Loyola 1: Looking up to Ignatius

The image of St. Ignatius to the left hung in the stairwell at Eastern Point retreat house when I made the Spiritual Exercises there.  If you look closely, you can see my reflection at the lower right (the sleeve of my grey sweatshirt and the camera in front of my face).  Through his Exercises, Ignatius has had a substantial influence on my life, though our lives are separated by centuries, and an ocean.

In the Exercises, there is a contemplation which asks you to imagine standing before God and the communion of saints.  My image of Ignatius in that gathering was of a tall, thin man standing off to the side smiling — perhaps drawing on this image I looked up at each day on my way to meet with my director.  I was shocked to discover that Ignatius was only 4'11" tall.  I am a solid two inches taller than the good saint!

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Andy Otto's wonderful post about five ways to find God in all things is reprised on Loyola Press' 31-days of St. Ignatius calendar.  I love his suggestion to do something by hand that you might not have to.  Yesterday my kids and I baked bread, kneading and shaping the loaves.  This morning I was reminded of the sacredness of the everyday when I sliced a piece for toast and noticed that my oldest had slashed the sign of the cross in the top of the loaves, as his Irish great-great-great grandmother did.