Any who have walked the journey of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, are familiar with the term ‘first principle and foundation’. It is where one begins every spiritual journey–naming what you are certain to be true and what you desire to grow toward. St. Ignatius wrote his first principle and foundation that generations of Jesuits have prayed with. Here is how I re-wrote it for myself:
God caused love to have color, scent, texture, and sound in order to let love move, breathe, and exist outside of God, while expressing God more clearly.
I am part of that love–moving, breathing, and existing among other love shapes in order to know First Love.
All this love exists to call me to deeper knowledge of the First Love and must be used as such. There is nothing greater than the First Love, nothing more beautiful, nothing more desirous than First Love.
May my love light always lead me closer to First Love.
