Called Deeper Together - Setting My Heart On Fire

What would happen if we went “all in”? 

Many of us are familiar with the story Jesus tells in Luke’s Gospel of the woman who placed her last two coins into the offering basket. This offering of all she had left stood in stark contrast from those who were offering only a fraction of their immense wealth. It's a story highlighting detachment from material possessions and dependence on God. But, it is also a story of going “all in”.

We are invited to go “all in” in a myriad of ways for a myriad of reasons, and sometimes that invitation is to go “all in” with our community. So, I’ll ask again in a slightly different way: 

What would happen if we went “all in” with our community? What would happen if we took a chance and dropped in the last two coins of our talent, our empathy, our passion, our openness, and our desire into our community’s basket? 

There are times when I fail to go “all in”, when I don’t answer the call, or when I shy away due to fear, uncertainty, disinterest, or doubt. But there are other times when I have taken the chance and given those last two precious coins - and every time I do, the community has returned my offering to me tenfold. 

Last Spring, I was fresh off a diagnosis of Addison’s Disease, and I was still trying to figure out what it would mean for my life. I was wrestling with the possible limitations it would bring as well as treading lightly into testing the limits of my new physical reality. There was a lot of uncertainty in my life at that time which led me to start questioning many things including an invitation to attend a Women’s Retreat in St. Louis. The retreat was designed by the Central and Southern Jesuit Province (the organization that sponsors all Jesuit works throughout the Southern United States) as an opportunity to engage women and Jesuits in conversation about the role of women in the works of the Society of Jesus. It was meant to be a time of prayer, reflection, listening, and conversation as a starting point toward building a better and more inclusive community. In the Fall, I had been all about going on this retreat. But by Spring, my passion and my fire for the mission had been dampened by my physical health among other things. 

The day I was sitting at my computer debating whether or not to complete the purchase for the plane tickets, I reached out to a dear Jesuit friend of mine. During our conversation, he reminded me of how excited I had been about this opportunity when I was first invited. He reminded me of the passion I had for this particular topic - the role of lay people, particularly women, working together with Jesuits to further the mission of the Society. He also reminded me of all the other times getting together with other people involved in Jesuit works had awakened and enlivened my spirit. “I can’t tell you what to do,” he said. “But I hope that you are open to what the Spirit is asking of you here.” Shortly after I hung up, I pressed “purchase” and went “all in”. 

In the end, that week in St. Louis was incredibly meaningful to me. The opportunity to engage with people in a wide variety of Jesuit-sponsored ministries reminded me of why I have woken up every day on fire for being even a small part of carrying on the work of St. Ignatius. Having the time and space to pray and discern where God was in all I had experienced and where God was leading me now and doing that discernment among a community of people who intimately understood what that kind of discernment means helped me process my experiences in ways I had not yet been able to do. The most meaningful part of that week was that I got to eat lunch on the last day before I got back on the plane to fly home with that dear Jesuit friend of mine who had encouraged me to go in the first place. It ended up being the last time we would see each other before he passed away the next month. When he died and my heart was broken, some members of that same community that had held me on retreat, held me again in my grief. 

There are many uncertainties when we decide to go “all in”. We often ask ourselves: “If I put my last two coins in, what will I have left?” I think the answer to this question lies in the basket itself. Our offering is not in there alone. The basket we are placing our offering in is filled with the offerings of others as well. The basket is also structured to support and keep our offering safe - it has walls that hold our offering like the warm embrace of a friend. 

When we go “all in” to community, we gain so much more than we leave behind.

Ignatian Ministries is working to build community in response to hearing so many tell us they are desiring a community to hold them. You can learn more about the three Ignatian Ministries' collectives already gathering here. Fill out an interest form if you are interested in being part of a larger Ignatian community.  

So, will you? Will you place your last two coins in the offering basket and allow a community to hold you, renew you, and reignite your passion so you may, as Ignatius asks, go and set the world on fire?

Going Deeper Together:

Ignatian Ministries Offers You Community: 

• Have you been wishing for a community of Ignatian-minded companions to go deeper with? Visit Ignatian Ministries to learn more. 
• Read more about how our community, our village, supports us when we need it and find a prayer for your village in this post by Kathy Powell.
• Looking for resources on discernment? Check out this free resource on The Four Steps of Discernment or this one on Creating a Spiritual Plan from Ignatian Ministries. 

Embrace Your Magis: A Poem by Gretchen Crowder

• Going “all in” in Ignatian Spirituality can also be described as “embracing our Magis”. Magis is a word that means more and involves a willingness to go deeper. Learn more about Magis here and pray with this poem about embracing the Magis by Gretchen Crowder called “I’m All In”

Reflect on how God goes “all in” for you:

• Tune into Loved As You Are: An Ignatian Podcast. Host Gretchen Crowder and her guests have vulnerable conversations about the God who loves us as we are, no matter what.

Go “All In” for Justice: 

• This year the Society of Jesus is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pedro Arrupe’s People for Others - a talk where he encouraged alumni of Jesuit schools to go “all in” for justice. Read the talk here and consider how you might be invited to go “all in” for justice for and with your own community.

Photo by Rhand McCoy on Unsplash