Divine Friend Request

As he celebrated his underdog win in the 2012 Iowa Caucuses, former Senator Rick Santorum began his remarks by offering a paean to his wife which credited  to C.S. Lewis:

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." 

The same sort of qualities certainly ought to be attributed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In an effort to modernize the Animus Christi (Soul of Christ), the medieval prayer which was a favorite prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola, David Fleming, S.J. recast the prayer to draw more people into a personal relationship with their messiah.

Jesus .. Best Friend
may your soul give life to me,
may your flesh be food for me,
may you warm your hardened heart.

Jesus .. Best Friend
may your tears now wash me clean,
may our passion keep me strong,
may you listen to my plea.

Jesus .. Best Friend
may our wound take in my hurts,
may your glaze be fixed on me,
may I not betray your love.

Jesus .. Best Friend
may you call me at death’s door,
may you hold me close to you,
may you place me with God’s saints,
may I ever sing your praise.  Amen.

According to James Martin, S.J. Ignatius of Loyola was neither a renowned scholar nor martyr, yet he is remembered as a mystic who loved God with an incredible intensity.  The formal name of the religious order which he help found in Paris in 1534 is the Society of Jesus (La Compagnie de Jésus in French).  The Jesuit charism is to find God in all things.  It is observed that the mainspring of Jesuit spirituality is companionship with Jesus and their confreres.

This divine friendship is not something reserved for just the consecrated religious but for all through our baptism.  To think of it in social media constructs, the question is whether we confirm or ignore that heavenly Friend request and keep up with the daily feeds, or do we ignore the entreaty or effectively negate it through neglect.