"When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, 'Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!'"
— Genesis 28:16
"Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, 'Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.'"
— Matthew 9:22
Ignatian spirituality invites us to seek and find God in all things. Not just in the grand or miraculous, but in the quiet, overlooked corners of our lives. Jacob’s awakening is a moment of spiritual clarity—he realizes that God was present all along, even though he hadn’t recognized it. How often do we walk through our days unaware that we are treading on holy ground?
In the Ignatian tradition, this moment is an invitation to awaken. To become more attentive. To pause and ask: Where was God today? The Examen prayer, a daily practice of reflection, becomes our compass—helping us trace the fingerprints of the Divine across the map of our lives.
The woman in the Gospel who reaches out to Jesus does so with bold faith. She believes that even the hem of his garment holds healing. And Jesus, turning to her, affirms what Ignatius would call consolation—a moment of deep connection with God that brings peace, courage, and clarity.
These moments—Jacob’s dream, the woman’s healing—are not distant stories. They are echoes of our own encounters with the sacred. They remind us that the veil between heaven and earth is thin. That God is not far off, but near. Closer than we dare to imagine.
Ignatius teaches that our desires, when purified and rightly ordered, can lead us to God. The roadmap to God is not a rigid set of directions—it is a journey of the heart. It is marked by attentiveness, courage, and trust. It is shaped by our willingness to be surprised by grace.
- Like Jacob, we may stumble upon God’s presence in unexpected places.
- Like the woman, we may reach out in desperation and find healing in the touch of Christ.
- Like pilgrims, we walk with open eyes and open hearts, trusting that God is already ahead of us, drawing us forward.
A Prayer to Close
Lord, awaken me to Your presence in the ordinary.
Let me not pass by the sacred unnoticed.
Give me the courage to reach for You in faith,
and the grace to recognize Your nearness.
May my journey be guided by Your Spirit,
and may I find in every step
a signpost pointing home to You. Amen.
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