I’ve got friends in high places…and so do you!
Garth Brooks may have friends in low places, but we can delight in the fact that we have friends in high places, VERY high places, which is a real treasure for our spiritual life.
The saints of the Catholic Church are a special bunch indeed. What can I say about them that hasn’t already been said, except that they inspire me on a daily basis. Why? Because they put it all on the line for God, the same way an athlete leaves it all on the field. Their stories are so different, but a single thread runs throughout: total gift of self out of love for Christ.
The saints are the spiritual equivalent of Olympic athletes…pushing themselves to the limit, striving for perfection and showing us what’s possible. I could run down a list of the saints and what’s so amazing about them, but let me share about a new friend I’ve been learning from lately: St. Ignatius of Loyola, and boy does he have a lot to teach us!
The Jesuits / Society of Jesus are inviting us on a spiritual pilgrimage for the next year in honor of the 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius, which came about when he was severely wounded in battle by a cannonball. As he was recovering from his injuries, he spent time reading about Jesus and the lives of the saints and it sent him on an entirely new trajectory. Ultimately his life would be about one thing: doing God’s will.
As part of this Ignatian Year, we’re invited to find God in all things and see all things new in Christ. We’re also invited into the rich spirituality of St. Ignatius, which includes the spiritual exercises, the daily examen and finding freedom through spiritual detachment. Bishop Barron did a nice sermon on Ignatian detachment as part of his weekly podcast series.
BB also did a beautiful film on St. Ignatius' life and you can watch it here. We can learn so much from this saint whose motto is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam - for the greater glory of God. I’m confident that if we adopt that motto for our own lives, we’ll be one step closer to joining our friends in high places!