Listen:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…..Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
Reflect:
“…. this term does not mean an unfeeling lack of concern. Instead, indifference means that we hold all of God’s gifts reverently, gratefully but also lightly, embracing them or letting them go, all depending on how they help us fulfill our vocation to love in everyday, concrete details.” —Kevin O’Brien, An Ignatian Adventure.
I am currently trying to work out what ‘indifference’ means in my life. I am looking at those things which are important to me and seeing that sometimes my longings can have a negative effect on my relationship with God and others.
So how do I ‘hold things lightly’? I offer you this prayer exercise:
- Is there some situation, or person that you care deeply about? (It may be your own health or finances.)
- In your imagination visualise this person or situation as small enough to fit into your hands. Imagine that you are holding them very tightly.
- Can you see that by doing so you are causing distortion, perhaps hurt or damage to that which you are holding? Your shoulders and arms are tense, you are gritting your teeth! You are hurting.
- Now, in your imagination, open your hands so that you hold the person or situation without trying to control, restrict or restrain in any way. Relax.
- Now lift your hands, to show that person or situation to God.
- Ask Him what you are meant to do.
- Does He want you to let go completely or hold onto lightly? Forgive? Do something loving?
Prayer of Response:
“Dear Father God, please give me the grace to hold lightly all that you have given to me, so that I can be free to love You, myself and others. “
—Submitted by Elaine Davis
Lifesprings’ prayer partner, wife, mom and grandma Elaine lives in the United Kingdom. She is a past graduate of Lifesprings School of Ministry(LSM) Zurich and enjoys creative writing.)
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