Finding God in all things . . . for lawyers

A student in my "Catholic Social Thought and the Law" class shared these thoughts about Ignatian discernment and conscience-examination:

Nowadays it is extraordinary difficult to be a Catholic that live his/her faith in a daily effort to listen and obey God’s will.

We are normally submerged in a routine full of movement, noises and distractions that make it very complicated for us to hear and feel God during the day; then, when we arrive home we are so tired of the work that we don't want to dedicate time to something that will require an effort, like prayer.

Days and weeks pass with the same usual schedule and after some time we have forgotten how to give Jesus part of our time besides going to Mass on Sundays.

I will like to share my personal experience related to this situation; I’ve studied with the Jesuits since elementary through law school and I’ve learned that one of the things that was most important to St. Ignatius is to understand that “one can find God in all things because all things descend from God and speak of God”; this idea of Ignatius leads us to search and feel God in all the things in our daily life.

When I was younger this was not so difficult to do.  Being constantly surrounded by teachers and communities that were involved in social apostolates I could sense the presence of God in my life frequently. Yet, when I started to have a busier life I discovered that in order to find God in all things someone has to actually make the effort of looking for Him.

The exam of conscience proposed by St. Ignatius is a delightful tool for do this effort and it is a realistic option in the busy world of these days: every night one must take a time –alone, quiet, peaceful- to examinee the day and find the moments in which God’s presence was stronger; recognizing these moments we will start learning the things in our lives in which God is more and more present.

It takes will and discipline to introduce the exam of conscience in our daily agenda, but the fruits of doing it are precious. The exam will become a privileged moment with Jesus and savoring it will bring us closer to the openness we need to truly find God in all things.