Recently I was moved while listening to Deacon (now Father)  Francky’s podcast interviewing Professor Gordon Rixon s.j. They were talking about Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and “The Two Standards.”

I spent forty days at Loyola House at Guelph in Spring 1993. So I thought I knew about these two standards. But this time, maybe because I was ready to listen, or I was more open for something to move me, the explanation of the “ego” as the opposite standard to Christ moved me in a new direction.

 When I’m sometimes automatically being judgmental, or nursing old resentments about past hurts, I think “that’s my ego, that’s the other standard.” In a  subsequent post from the jesuits, the announcement and photo of Francky’s ordination in Haiti was posted on Facebook.

I thought he will never know, unless I tell him, how helpful I found his podcast. This reflection is my expression of gratitude for his gift. Let us pray for one another.