In today’s first reading, God makes his presence so abundantly clear that it involves thunder and lightning, smoke, and a trumpet blast.  God wanted there to be no doubt in the minds of the Israelites that he was there, and that he was speaking to them through Moses.  How much easier our lives would be if God made his presence in our lives this obvious!  We wouldn’t have any doubt as to what God was asking of us.

In the absence of lightning and a trumpet, how can we identify God’s presence in our lives?  St. Ignatius gave us the Examen as a beautiful and powerful prayer tool, with the goal being to notice God’s presence in the big and little moments of our days.  Who are the people and events that illuminate God working in our lives?  What is God saying to us in the noise and in the silence that surrounds us?

—Jim and Lauren Gaffey.  Jim is a science teacher at Saint Ignatius College Prep.  Lauren is the Charis Ministries Program Coordinator for the Office of Ignatian Spirituality, and does work for the Midwest Jesuits.