Grace: That I may feel intense joy and gladness for the great glory and joy of Christ our Lord risen from the dead. Text: Spiritual Exercises #218-225; #299 Reflection: We now come to the Fourth Week of the Spiritual Exercises and shift our focus to the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord. In this… Read more »
Posts By: Mr. Jason LaLonde, S.J.
The Word that Longs to Dwell in Our Hearts
| XXXII.Grace: The grace that my heart might always be a welcome abode for the Divine Word which so longs to dwell there. Text for prayer: Luke 19:47-48; Luke 21:37-38 Reflection: We consider two points in this meditation. The first point is that between His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and His Last Supper, Jesus continues to… Read more »
The Three Forms of Humility
| XXII.Grace: To choose what is for God’s greater glory and the salvation of my soul. Text for Prayer: John 17:24-26 and SpEx on Humility Reflection: This meditation on the three forms of humility is an excellent meditation for Lent. At the beginning of Lent we head out to the desert for forty days to pray and… Read more »
Fleshing Out Our Knowledge of God
Grace: A heartfelt knowledge of Jesus Christ who became man for me, that I might follow Him more closely and love Him more dearly. This week we have been praying for a deeper knowledge of the God who became man for us. Specifically, we’ve begged for the grace, “to have heartfelt knowledge of Jesus who… Read more »
Let Us Make Ourselves Little
| XVI.Grace: To imitate the patience, humility, and forgetfulness of self exhibited in the saints who follow Christ. Text for Prayer: Luke 2: 22-38 Reflection: Many of you who read this blog may be interested in the Spiritual Exercises because you know the Exercises to be a powerful tool for discernment, for discovering God’s will for… Read more »
The Smell of Sulphur
| X.Grace: A deep awareness of the pain suffered by those damned to hell, so that if I should forget the love of the Eternal Lord, at least the fear of punishment will help me to avoid sin. Text for Prayer: Revelation 14:6-11 Reflection: I was away on a retreat this weekend at a retreat center… Read more »
The Snares of the Enemy: Venial Sin
| VI.Grace: Shame and confusion at myself because of my sins. Text for Prayer: 1 John 1:8-2:6 Reflection: St. Ignatius of Loyola describes the point of spiritual exercises as follows: they are meant “to conquer oneself and to organize one’s life without the influence in one’s decisions by any inordinate attachment.” Just as God’s first act… Read more »
Lord, Teach Me to be Generous
| II.Grace: That all intentions, actions, and works may be purely directed towards the praise and service of God our Lord. Text for Prayer: Genesis 1:26-31 Reflection: Why did God choose to make mankind? If I were to pose this question to the 8th graders whom I teach, they would likely—using their energetic imaginations—come up with… Read more »