Most of us have known the pain of rejection. Whether we see it coming a long way off or it cuts us to the quick, savagely and unexpectedly, rejection is not easy to shrug off. Rejection is the ultimate sign of our lack of ability to control outcomes. It signals either an ending or a temporary cutting off of a possibility that will now go unexplored. Rejection can be so painful that some of us choose to reject another rather than to be rejected. In fact, forms of rejection can become a part of our relational pattern with others, as we adopt guarded ways of interacting.
These relational patterns can intrude upon the quality and depth of our relationship with God. Wanting us to know, experientially, the depth and breadth of God’s love for us, Ignatius asks us to reflect on and answer the question: “What are some of the ways I have rejected God’s love?”
If we also recall the ways that God’s love has healed or sustained or fed us, we can see how self-defeating this response can be. This consideration can remind us of the many opportunities we have to know and experience God’s love, encouraging us to remain open to them and ask for more of them.
