Sometimes God is hidden in cloud, like a mountain. Sometimes I myself am hidden from God - in veils of inattention, tiredness or disinterest. Yet it is God who seeks and finds us, whatever our mood, whatever our distractions.

Finding God is a grace. Being found by God is a grace. Grace changes lives. We are more likely to find God if we know how and where to look, and if we keep seeking. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7)

The 16th Century founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, was led on a pilgrim path in search of God. He discovered that God can indeed be found in all things, in all events, in every moment. Learning to acknowledge the movements of his heart, he was led to a profound assent of faith in Jesus.

Ignatius invited others to journey along the path he trod. Generations later we call this path ‘Ignatian Spirituality’. It is a pilgrim’s path, a way that respects each one’s life journey, but profoundly challenges the pilgrim to hear, to decide and to journey onwards.

At the Centres of Ignatian Spirituality you are invited to take steps along that road, seeking to meet the Stranger who is already a friend, indeed even an old friend whom we have known all our lives. You may encounter the self within yourself. Meeting, we come to know more clearly; knowing, we come to love more strongly; loving, we come to follow more closely.

We invite you to choose one of the programs at any of our Centres of Ignatian Spirituality in Australia. Or just come and talk to one of our experienced spiritual guides. It is our hope that you will find with us an environment of prayer and the guidance that will help you discover God’s presence in your life..

Mark Raper
SJ Provincial