DIRECTOR'S TAKE

BECOMING CONTEMPLATIVES-IN-ACTION

Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Posted Friday, 5-Aug-2005 9:00 AM

The following homily was delivered by Fr. Johnny Go last 30 July 2005 on the occasion of the XSPA Family Missioning Mass held at the new Fr. Rafael Cortina Sports Center.

      Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, God was feeling tired. He was feeling tired because of all the people who were always asking him for things. So he decided to go on leave to get some rest—just for three days.

      He called for a council of his angels to get their advice. He wanted to go to a place away from people just for a few days—a place where no one could find him—and he needed the suggestions of his angels.

      When his angels heard the call, they flew in from all sorts of places. Angels of every size and shape came together for their consultation meeting with God.

      When all the angels were gathered together, God asked them: “My dear angels, I’m planning to take a 3-day vacation. Where do you think I can go where people won't find me and where I will be able to rest?”

      The angels thought for a while. Some of them prayed. Others did some research, while others were simply stumped by the question.

      The first angel who gave a suggestion thought she had a bright idea.

      “All-Powerful God,” she said, “why don't you go to the tallest mountain here on earth? You can go into hiding there.”

      God thought for a while, but he shook his mighty head. He said: I don't think that's far enough. People will easily drive up and find me up there.”

      A second suggestion came from an angel as she hovered in mid-air.

      “Lord, why don't you go to the very bottom of the deepest ocean?” she suggested. “I'm sure you'll find some peace and quiet there!”

      God considered the idea for a while, but he shook his mighty head. He said: “Well, people have submarines these days, so there's also no guarantee that I will not be found if I hide in the deepest ocean.”

      A third angel peered through her telescope and fluttered her wings in excitement.

      “Almighty God,” she said, “why don't you go to the dark side of the moon? Men have been to the moon, but never to the dark side.”

      God paused and thought for a while and he almost followed this piece of advice, but again he shook his mighty head: “I’m afraid that's not a very good idea. The way science is advancing, you never know when people will find a way to reach the dark side of the moon.”

      The entire council of angels were at a loss and were just about ready to give up. They simply couldn't think of a place where people would not be able to find God.

      Then suddenly, the smallest angel's halo lit up, and he excitedly shared what he thought was a great idea. “Lord, I know exactly the place where you can go for your vacation, the place where no one will ever look for you and find you.”

      And God asked the little angel: “And where is this hiding place?”

      And the little angel smiled and answered: “If you want to go to a place where no person will ever go, a place where no person will ever look for you and find you, go to the human heart. People are always too busy to go into their hearts.”

      God thought for a while, and then he smiled and nodded: “You are right! That’s the perfect hiding place, and that's where I will hide--in the hearts of people.”

      End of story.

      My dear friends, the story, of course, is not a true story because as we all know, God never gets tired, and He loves to hear our prayers. The point of the story is not that at all. Rather, the point of the story is that we can find God in a special way in our hearts.

      I told you this story because it teaches us something that St. Ignatius experienced in his life, something that he would very much like to share with us. Ignatius lived his life as a Contemplative-in-Action. That means that even outside prayer, Ignatius was always contemplating and always asking what God is trying to tell him. He wants us to become Contemplatives-in-Action. But we can do this only if we are able to go deep into ourselves and reflect on our daily experiences, only if we are in touch with our hearts because that’s where God is. Unfortunately, as the little angel in the story claimed, we’re often too busy to do that: Most of us never get to look into our hearts. Most of us run around like headless chickens, never finding time to look into our hearts. As a result, we never hear God’s voice and we are far from Contemplatives-in-Action.

      Maybe that’s the one thing we can all ask for from St. Ignatius tonight: the grace of becoming Contemplatives-in-Action, that all of us may be able to regularly stop and reflect on our experiences, so that we will increasingly be able to find God in all things.

      Tonight, on the eve of his feast, let us ask Ignatius to help us all become Contemplatives-in-Action.

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