Outer Space

Traditionally we have defined space as the "boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction." In the Spiritual Exercises* (Ignatius, 1992,47.1) of St. Ignatius of Loyola he tells the person making the SE they are to "imagine" the Gospel scene they are contemplating. The word used by St. Ignatius is "composicion," which literally means putting together. When we imagine space we are thinking of the objective reality of the spread of things over a three-dimensional space. Used in a different way later in the exercises we are asked to look at the "place" where we are in our spiritual exercises we are contemplating. The Church teaches (DeFide) "God is everywhere present in created space." We read in Ps. 139 "when I climb to the heavens you are there." In many ways the Holy Spirit, speaking to us thru the scriptures points out how God is present even from the first pages of the Bible "the Spirit hovered over the waters of the void." (Gen. 1)

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity,O.C.D.

We can also use our imagination to create an "inner space" in our soul, where God is present. The Saints often performed this exercise. It was reported by St. Catherine of Siena's confessor that she would often enter into her solitary prayer and imagine God being present within herself. St. Teresa of Avila taught her religious sisters the same technique in the "way of perfection." In our using the imagination we are also uniting it with the spiritual sense of "seeing" God thru faith, which is the infused gift of God working in the soul. A Monk at Parkminster (Carthusians, 2006,14) speaks about space as being an "accident," while "unions are substantial." St. Ignatius also , I believe, would have the person making the SE turn inward by imagining himself in the presence of Christ as he walks the land fo Galilee, visits the people of Galilee, and any of his mysteries, for the purpose of coming into contact with the subject we are contemplating. St. Ignatius calls this, as above, the "place." we are composing our prayer.No matter how we contemplate these scenes of Christ life and imagine him in different ways in our life we need to be grounded in the reality as the Church teaches us of God's "interdwelling" within us. "Do you not you are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells within you."  Our faith is not grounded on our imagination, but our imagination is being used as an expression of our faith as St. Leo teaches in his encyclical here:

"Therefore, by the conspicuous apparition of the Holy Ghost over Christ and by His invisible power in His soul, the twofold mission of the Spirit is foreshadowed, namely, His outward and visible mission in the Church, and His secret indwelling in the souls of the just." (Leo XIII, Divinum illud munus, 4)

God's Living Presence in the Sanctified Soul

The point here is the richness of God's presence far exceeds any comparison to the scientific estimation of what can be found in exterior reality., which means the measurement of a space does not equal the depths of the treasure hidden there. We only need to hear Mary's words in response to the Archangel Michael "let it be done to me as you say," (Lk. 1:38) here or to her cousin Elizabeth "my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." (Lk. 1:46) here. Recently canonized St. Elizabeth of the Trinity spent her entire vocation contemplating the mystery of this interdwelling presence of God in the soul. (Elizabeth, 2017)

Space Photo Credit: Photo by NASA on Unsplash

* Ignatius, , and George E. Ganss. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius: A Translation and Commentary. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1992. Print.

* Carthusians. "They Speak by Silences."  Leominster, Herefordshire: Gracewing, 2006. Print.

   Elizabeth, of T. The Praise of Glory: Reminiscences of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity, a Carmelite Nun of Dijon, 1901-1906. Place of publication not identified: Forgotten Books, 2017. Print. (archived here) purchase here)