31st Week in Ordinary Times : Wednesday, 4th November 2026

In the first reading, one line provoked me to reflect on a theme very dear to St Ignatius of Loyola – “It is God, for His own loving purpose, Who puts both the will and the action into you.” St Ignatius places great importance on our desires, and recognises that the grace of God often works within us through the desires which emerge from our hearts.

While many of our desires are merely expressions of our earthly attractions and attachments, there are also inclinations and ambitions which are placed there by God’s own Spirit and meant to guide us towards actions that lead us to a sense of meaning and fulfillment in our lives.

Some obvious examples of such “holy” desires are a deep attraction to a particular person to raise a family, or to follow the Lord in a religious vocation. But apart from such major life decisions, we also experience holy desires in the ordinary course of our lives when we are attracted to serving the poor or helping someone in need.

However, we need to practise discernment to discover whether our desires indeed come from God’s spirit or are merely expressions of our own ego. To discern requires prayer, reflection, and sensitivity to how God speaks to us by movements of peace and joy we experience in our hearts.

The words of Jesus about sitting down and considering the desires and actions to build the tower or go into war are precisely about discernment.

PRAYER Jesus, help me to discern well.