Finding God in the Net: Discernment with St. Ignatius of Loyola

Today, as we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, we are given a beautiful Gospel passage from Matthew 13:47-53. In this passage, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven being like a net thrown into the sea that collects fish of every kind. When it is full, the fishermen bring it ashore and separate the good from the bad. This parable, like many others, calls us to reflect on our lives, our choices, and the deep invitation to discernment.

St. Ignatius of Loyola understood well the importance of discernment. After a profound conversion experience while recovering from a battle wound, Ignatius dedicated his life to seeking God in all things. One of his key contributions to the Church was the practice of spiritual discernment — learning to distinguish between the movements of the good spirit and the bad spirit in one’s heart, to recognize what draws us to God and what leads us away.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is reminding us that there is a day of reckoning — a day when everything will be brought to light and the good will be kept while the bad is discarded. Ignatius took this message seriously. He knew that a life lived without reflection, without discernment, risks being caught in the net of distractions, self-centeredness, and disordered attachments. He invites us, through the Spiritual Exercises and through his example, to be ever attentive to the direction of our lives.

Are we listening for God’s voice in the everyday events? Are we examining our intentions, our thoughts, and our actions in the light of Christ? St. Ignatius urges us to strive for spiritual freedom — the kind of freedom that allows us to choose God above all else, to seek His greater glory in all we do.

When Jesus concludes today’s Gospel saying, ‘Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old’, it resonates deeply with what Ignatius lived and taught. He brought forth the experience of God’s presence in his past and transformed it into a new energy for the mission of evangelization. He encourages us to integrate both the past and present, both tradition and innovation, in our journey of faith.

So as we honor St. Ignatius today, may we be inspired by his zeal, his discipline, and above all his love for Christ and the Church. Let us become discerning disciples, attentive to the movements of the Spirit, striving daily to be among the good fish gathered into Christ’s Kingdom.

May we, like Ignatius, seek not merely to do great things for God, but to find God in all things and give Him greater glory in all that we do.