Icon of St. Ignatious
of Loyola in Discernment
Today at lunch at an African American buffet restaurant, and tonight at a theater review of the music of Gilbert and Sullivan, I felt out of place. Both events were enjoyable. The food was good and the play was well done. Thinking about the rest of the day, the time I felt most comfortable was the hour or so working in the garden alone.
Lunch at the restaurant was to meet with persons about our “Breaking the Silence” summer marches of resistance. Not many showed up, which left the four of us regulars feeling like we were a failure until one member reminded us of a saying from Thomas Merton:
Maybe it was the sense of failure that threw me off slightly at the restaurant.
At the play I feel it was the all-white audience that made me feel a little uncomfortable. At the Asian restaurant we went to before the play we mentioned to the waitress that we were going to see Gilbert and Sullivan. She asked what that was. Gilbert and Sullivan music is memorable but strictly appealing to a homogenous white culture. With some of their songs, especially the rhyming ones, I felt like a rap version of the song would have more cross cultural appeal.
Working in the garden was just simple. I sifted some more worm compost
for castings, planted a few more plants and seeds. My mind was focused on these simple tasks, the weather was nice and results of my work could be immediately seen.
This act of discerning spirits or feelings is important in the spirituality of St. Ignatius. What gives us a long-term good feeling and feels natural is better than something that may give us short term pleasure but at the end feels like time wasted. You can find more about Ignatian Spirituality and Discernment of Spirits when I complete the Retreat in Daily Life.
The summer of resistance, Breaking the Silence is to make persons aware of what is happening in the world in terms of war and violence. Hopefully my new awareness and discernment of my own feelings means I am growing in awareness. Discernment leads to awareness.
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