The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life

by James Martin

St. Augustine described in the fourth century. “Lord, our hearts are restless,” he wrote, “until they rest in you.” The pull that draws you to God comes from God.

Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah is kept hidden from most people. (Theologians call this the “Messianic secret.”)

identify his desire, and to be clear about it.

Holiness always makes its home in humanity.

“Deep calls to deep,”

many people feel drawn to God in times of suffering.

God is able to reach us because our defenses are lowered.

“Dying is about becoming more human.”

the more time we spend with someone we love, the more we become like the object of our love.

the more human we become, the more divine we become.

vulnerability is another way in which we can experience our desire for God.

feelings of incompletion, common longings and connections, uncommon longings, exaltation, clarity, desires to follow, desires for holiness, and vulnerability—are

are all ways of becoming aware of our innate desire for God.

finding God and being found by God are the same, since those expressions of desire have God both as their source and goal.

God as seeking us more than we seek God. It is a hadith qudsi,

“And if [my servant] draws nearer to me by a handsbreadth, I draw nearer to him by an arms-length; and if he draws nearer to me by an armslength, I draw nearer to him by a fathom; and if he comes to me walking, I come to him running.”

God desires a relationship with you.

“What do I need to do before I can relate to God?” I asked. “Nothing,” he said. “God meets you where you are.”

God loves us as we are now.

“You don’t have to change for God to love you.”

you are loved even in your imperfections. God al...

Jesus often calls people to conversion, to cease sinning, to change their lives, but he doesn’t wait until they have done so before meeting them. He enters in relationship with them as he finds them. He meets them where they are and as they are.

God’s way of relating with you often depends on where you are in your life.

easy for him to find God once he knew where to look.

God can meet us anywhere.

Seek grace in the smallest things, and you will also find grace to accomplish, to believe in, and to hope for the greatest things. —Blessed Peter Favre, S.J., one of the first Jesuits

God also meets you in ways that you can understand, in ways that are meaningful to

you.

God comes to us in ways we can understand.

I’m happy to be here,

I felt that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

God speaks to us in ways we can understand.

God can also meet you at any time,

Your spiritual house does not need to be tidy for God to enter.

Jesus often meets people in the midst of their busy lives:

Just as often he encounters people when they’re at the...

“I’m ready to meet you, if you’re ready to meet me.”

Because God is ready now.

God is always inviting us to encounter the transcendent in the everyday.

The key is noticing.

finding God is about noti...

prayer as “a long, loving look at the real.”

Noticing helps

you realize that your life is already suffused with the presence of God.

enable believers to find God in their lives.

“examination of conscience.”

what you’re doing is examining your day for signs of God’s presence.

first step is gratitude.

You recall the good things that happened to you during the day, and you give thanks for any “benefits,”

“Ignatius saw the examen as prayer, not just focused on the person, but as directed to God.