Tips from St. Ignatius

I enjoyed this article thoroughly specially how God speaks to us.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-james-martin-sj/the-feast-of-st-ignatius_b_665837.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

Yet there was a difference. When he was thinking about the things of the world, he took much delight in them, and afterwards, when he was tired and put them aside, he found that he was dry and discontented. But when he thought of going to Jerusalem, barefoot and eating nothing but herbs and undergoing all the things that the saints endured, not only was he consoled when he had these thoughts, but even after putting them aside, he remained content and happy. 

He did not notice this, however; nor did he stop to ponder the difference until one day his eyes were opened a little, and he began to marvel at the difference, realizing from experience that some thoughts left him sad and other happy. Little by little he came to recognize the difference between the spirits that agitated him, one from the enemy and one from God.

Ignatius began to understand that these feelings and desires might be ways that God was communicating with him. This is not to say that Ignatius found God and women in opposition. Rather, he began to see that his desires of winning fame by impressing others drew him away from God. His desires to surrender to a more generous and selfless way of life drew him towards God. What religious writers call a "grace" was not simply that he had these insights, but that he understood them as coming from God.


As a result of his experience, Ignatius began to understand that God wants to communicate with us. Directly.
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Today the Ignatian notion of the Creator dealing directly with human beings is less controversial. It's assumed by those on the "spiritual but not religious" journey. The far more controversial aspect is that God would speak to us through religion.

But Ignatius's insight is as liberating as it was in his time. And it is here that Ignatian spirituality can help even the doubtful find God.

Some agnostics or atheists await a rational argument or a philosophical proof to demonstrate the existence of God. Some will not believe until someone can show them how suffering can coexist with the belief in God. A few may even hope for an incontrovertible physical "sign" to convince them of God's presence.

But God often speaks in ways that are beyond our intellect or reason, beyond philosophical proofs. While many are brought to God through the mind, just as many are brought to God through the heart. Here God often speaks more gently, more quietly, as he did during Ignatius's convalescence. In these quiet moments God often speaks the loudest.