Day 6
Contemplation for Attaining Love
Finding God in all things
c. 1609
Grace to ask for
Lord, let me find You in all things and all things in You.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38–39
Composition of Place
This is the final exercise — the culmination of the Exercises. It is not a meditation on a scene from the life of Christ. It is a meditation on the whole of existence, seen through the eyes that the Exercises have been forming.
Points for Meditation
Love is shown in deeds
Ignatius begins: love ought to be expressed in deeds rather than words, and love consists in a mutual sharing between the two parties — the lover always gives to the beloved what he has, and the beloved gives to the lover. What has God given you? What have you given back?
God in all things
Consider how God dwells in created things — in the elements, in plants, in animals, in human beings. And then: how He dwells in you, giving you being, life, sensation, intelligence, making you a temple of the Holy Spirit. And then: how God works and labors for me in all created things. The God who holds the universe in being is doing that, continuously, for your sake.
Take, Lord, and receive
The Exercises end with the Suscipe — the prayer with which they began. The whole of the retreat has been preparation for meaning it. "Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will." Not as an act of self-erasure — as an act of love. I give you back what you gave me, trusting that in your hands it becomes more than it could ever be in mine.
Colloquy
This is the colloquy that becomes a life. The Exercises end, but the Contemplation for Attaining Love does not end — it becomes the lens through which you see everything from here. Ask for the grace to find God in all things: in work, in rest, in joy, in suffering, in the people around you, in your own heart. Ask to live as someone who knows they are loved completely and are free to love completely in return.
Closing Prayer
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will — all that I have and call my own. You have given it 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. Amen.
Remain in silence for a few minutes.
Do not rush to the next exercise.