What does is it mean to truly be free? Br. Mark Mackey, SJ, continues to lead us through an introduction to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, in which Ignatius calls for us to shed from ourselves the things that hold us down.
What’s keeping you from peace and joy in your life?
I’m Br. Mark Mackey, and I’d like to talk to you about freedom in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Certain things imprison us and keep us from the happiness we seek. We’ve all been there, and some of us may be there now: toxic relationships, bad habits, addictions, physical and emotional wounds that just don’t seem to heal.
There are also some more subtle barriers: a perfectionism that becomes obsessive, a fear of getting hurt that inhibits deep relationships, a laziness that stagnates our plans and our dreams, and a selfishness that leaves no room for love.
To really enjoy life, we need freedom from these attachments that hold us back. We must ask God to show us a way out of this prison–even if it takes a lot of time and trust to make that happen.
Freeing ourselves from these attachments, we begin to see a new sort of freedom, freedom for love: love of God, of others, of our earth and of ourselves.
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are the handbook that takes us through this movement from attachments to freedom for love. Join us in future episodes as we take you along this journey to freedom, peace, and love.
