Science tells us that the self, self-awareness, and even free will, may not be real. It’s a construction of the brain. So what’s the point of life if we have no free will or soul? A look at neuroscience, free will, and faith…
Life is far from understandable. So how can we find some solace when we find ourselves, once again, saying “I don’t understand!”? Saint Ignatius says we must not surrender just our wills to God but also our understanding.
What good can we find in Catholic guilt—or even guilt in general? Healthy guilt can lead to positive change for the world. Consider the stories we learn of in just one 24-hour news day. If we can imaginatively enter a gospel scene in the Ignatian tradition of prayer where we interact with Jesus and all the characters, can’t we do the same with news stories? And if you feel guilt, ask God what it might be saying to you.
Why doesn’t God solve all our problems? We’re forgetting an important part of God’s plan to redeem and heal the world. And our purpose is more than just converting and baptising.
Like dreams in the movie Inception, imaginative prayer can let us make real things hidden in the subsconcious by taking us to a “fantasy” place. Such meditations are not an escape from reality but rather a way to get more in touch with God by processing and revealing stuff about our feelings and experiences.
We have a tendency to say thank you because it’s expected or it’s a social norm. But Ignatius encourages us to be more intentional about gratitude.
Here is an excerpt from a piece I wrote on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit for Pentecost (this Sunday). You’ll find the full article (link below) has an Ignatian slant. “On Pentecost Sunday, God breathed the Holy Spirit into the apostles to remind them that they were not alone. […]
Two of Disney’s cornerstones are dreams and imagination. What do they have to do with the spiritual life?
I tend not to think about the bodily language we use to describe feelings. But feelings are just that, physical feelings occurring somewhere in our bodies. Let’s explore two such places: the heart and the gut.