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“I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave
me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I
had with you before the world began.” John 17:4–5
Saint Ignatius of Loyola bases his spiritual masterpiece, The
Spiritual Exercises, on one basic premise: Man is created to
praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to
save his soul. This is the essence of what Ignatius calls the
“Principle and Foundation” of our lives. In other words, our goal
in life is twofold: First, we must seek to give God the greatest
glory possible by our lives. And second, the effect of this
singular focus is the salvation of our souls.
In the Gospel passage quoted above, Jesus speaks of the fact that
He perfectly fulfilled His human life on earth by glorifying the
Father in Heaven. He did this by accomplishing the work that the
Father gave Him to fulfill.
If you are looking for purpose in your life or if you are trying to
discover the meaning of your life, then look no further. Jesus’
words above offer the ideal “principle and foundation” for your
life. This message of our Lord could be broken down into three
lessons.
First, the Father truly does have a plan for your life. Are you
seeking to discover that plan? Knowing that there is a divine plan
for your life is the first step in fulfilling it. If you do not
know God’s plan, it will be difficult to fulfill it. So do you seek
to discern this plan each and every day?
Secondly, when you do discern what God wants of you in your daily
life, you must accomplish His will. Sometimes we fall into the trap
of trying to fulfill only a portion of what God wants of us. The
problem with that approach is that we may actually accomplish “a
portion” of God’s will. But that’s not enough. We must aim for
perfection. We must strive for the complete fulfillment of the will
of God in our lives.
Thirdly, if we can truly accomplish the daily will of God for our
lives, then our lives will not only glorify God in every way
possible, but we will also be blessed to share in God’s glory. To
share in God’s glory is to share in God’s very life. It means that
God will be alive in us and we will become partakers of the joys of
Heaven. And it will begin here on earth. Why would we settle for
earthly “joys” and earthly pleasures when we are called to share in
delights that are beyond what we could ever imagine in this world?
Reflect, today, upon Jesus’ act of perfectly fulfilling the will of
the Father in His human nature. Even though our Lord was divine, He
was also fully human. He, therefore, perfectly understands your
human struggles and weaknesses. He knows what you go through, and
His humanity is the model for you to follow in life.
Reflect upon His human life and the way in which He lived in union
with the will of His Father day in and day out. Commit yourself to
this unwavering mission of fully accomplishing the will of the
Father in your life and you, too, will share in the glory of our
Lord.
My glorified Lord, You now share in the full joy and glory of
Your Father in Heaven with Your human nature. By doing so, You
invite me to not only imitate Your life on earth but to also share
in that same glory in Heaven. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord,
to accomplish all that the Father calls me to do. May my life fully
imitate You in every way so that I may also share, one day, in Your
glory. Jesus, I trust in You.
Conniemod, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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