I recently stumbled across a concept of the faith that caused me to ask, “Why haven’t I heard about this before?!” Based on foundational understandings of our faith, St. Ignatius’ “heavenly court” is a key imaginative meditation in his Spiritual Exercises (primarily the Second Week/Kingdom of Christ), where the person in prayer visualizes standing before Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the entire heavenly host to commit to serving God. This personal, contemplative practice aims to foster an intimate connection with Christ, seeking to know, love, and follow Him more closely through direct interior dialogue.
So… Did you hear that? St. Ignatius asks us to imagine Jesus, St. Mary, and the “the entire heavenly host” being present when they engaged in prayer! The concept of asking our saints to intercede for us isn’t new. That’s exactly what we are doing when we say a “Hail Mary,” or ask someone to pray for us. What was new, to me, was the idea of imagining them, gathered together, as I pray. Actually taking the time to draw them up in my imagination seemed wild, but it helped me to remember that it isn’t an act of “making up” something that isn’t true. No, instead, it is a calling to mind of a heavenly reality. It is a remembering of the physical presence of those who are, I/we believe, very much, spiritually alive in the heavenly realm. Just like Jesus had an inner circle of friends/disciples, I now call to mind those who are standing in the front line, for me, as I pray.
With Jesus at the center, St. Mary (Our Lady of Sorrows) by his side, I also know that St. Jude, St. Monica, and St. Anthony are there in the front. Who I also see, are the distinct faces of my aunt (Sr. Ruth Grates, OP- who we called “Auntie Sister”), my grandpa (“Papa Joe”), and my dad (nothing fancy- just “Dad” to me). These members of the Communion of Saints are the first that I call upon in prayer. It’s funny that I never thought of imagining them at all, but now that I have, I can’t get the image out of my head, and quite frankly, I don’t want to! There I am, surrounded by those who serve as my role models in the faith, those I love and respect. But more than that, I can also feel the love emanating from them. As I pray, I am clothed in their love, as a beloved child of God.
Who would be in the front line of your circle? As you pray, remember, you, too, are not alone.
