Join us in praying a novena to St. Ignatius, ending on his feast day, July 31, 2021!

Day 6, July 28- Indifference

Reflect: Another of Ignatius’ emphases throughout his Spiritual Exercises is indifference.

At the very beginning of the text he writes, “Human beings are created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by means of doing this to save their souls.” He goes on to explain that in order to have the freedom to do this- the freedom to serve God and act in accordance with His love and grace- we must achieve a certain level of indifference. He writes, “it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things.” Ignatius sees that we must be indifferent to creatures, to fellow human beings, and to worldly affairs. We must be indifferent to riches and wealth, to personal power and glory, and to the inclinations of our own wills. For only through this indifference, through this lack of attachment to material things and creatures, will we be free to choose and act on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the will of God, free to love Him by choosing His will above anything else. Indifference, then, does not require that we totally reject or ignore the things of the world, but rather, that we prevent these things from altering our decisions or directing our paths. Our decisions must be made only through a sincere love and attention to the glory and service of God in each moment. In what areas of our lives can we grow in indifference? To what material things are we too attached? In what areas of our life are we too attached to our own will?

Pray: The Suscipe

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours;
do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.