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Praying over Significant Feelings
Today and everyday, we look at our feelings. St. Ignatius of Loyola believed that God communicates with us not only through mental insight but also through our “interior movements,” as he called them: our feelings, emotions, desires, attractions, repulsions, and moods. Feelings are neither positive nor negative: it is what you do with them that raises moral questions.
The Grace I Seek
I pray for the following graces: wonder at God’s ongoing creation; gratitude for the gift of God creating me and creating the world.
Reflect on Your Feelings
As you reflect on the day, you may notice some strong feelings arise. They may be painful or pleasing—for example, joy, peace, sadness, anxiety, confusion, hope, compassion, regret, anger, confidence, jealousy, self-doubt, boredom, or excitement.
Pick one or two strong feelings or movements and pray from them. Ask God to help you understand what aroused those feelings and where they led you:
Did they draw you closer to God? Did they help you grow in faith, hope, and love? Did they make you more generous with your time and talent? Did they make you feel more alive, whole, and human? Did they lead you to feel more connected to others or challenge you to life-giving growth?
Or did the feelings lead you away from God, make you less faithful, hopeful, and loving? Did they cause you to become more self-centered or anxious? Did they lure you into doubt and confusion? Did they lead to the breakdown of relationships?
Read Psalm 117.
1 Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!a
2 His mercy for us is strong;
the faithfulness of the LORD is forever.
Hallelujah!
For Reflection
Ignatius’s Great Discovery
The point has often been made that the Christian Gospel is a story of strength and triumph arising from weakness and defeat. The Savior is a poor man in a provincial, backwater land. Salvation comes about through suffering and death. In the words of Mary’s Magnificat prayer: “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
We’re afflicted with divided hearts that cause us to be burdened by angst, uncertainty, and fear when making important decisions. But this very confusion of thoughts and feelings is the place where we find God’s footprints. It’s the raw material for discernment.
—J. Michael Sparough, SJ; Jim Manney; Tim Hipskind, SJ, What’s Your Decision?
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