Grace Upon Grace

Mid-September has come and gone, and the Loyola Institute for Spirituality is once again abuzz as the year’s activities get under way. Within this past week, the classes in the Ignatian Spiritual Formation Program and the Equipo Latino Americano (Hispanic Spiritual Leadership Program) have begun, and a total of sixty-eight people have begun 19th Annotation retreats that will run until mid-June. And the staff members of the Loyola Institute continue to meet with men and women seeking spiritual direction. August was surprisingly busy for all of us. I helped direct three retreats: an 8-day retreat in Encino and 6-day and 4-day retreats in Rancho Palos Verdes. Sometimes when I begin to direct others in a retreat or begin to teach a class I have a brief sense that I am giving something to others or imparting some knowledge or doing something that will enrich their lives. That sense quickly dissipates, however, as I listen to others speak of what God is doing in their lives or when I see it in their faces – and I realize, once again, that I am in the presence of God at work in the world, and I am taking away far more than I have given. One of the great graces of working at the Loyola Institute is the daily encounter with God in the lives of those to whom we minister.