St. Ignatius of Loyola and a Brief Note

On July 31, the Church normally celebrates the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola. However, this year it falls on a Sunday so the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time trumps his feast day. Nonetheless, St Ignatius of Loyola gives us a lot to ponder. St. Ignatius offers particular insights into the interior life of prayer. We just had two Sunday Gospels that focused on prayer. On July 17, we had the Gospel of Mary and Martha, during which Mary sits at the feet of Jesus listening to His voice. On July 24, the Gospel was about Jesus teaching His disciples to pray.

St. Ignatius was born in 1491 in Spain during the Basque war. He grew up dreaming of heroics in war and at the age of 18, he entered military service. His diplomacy and leadership abilities made him a very important soldier. On May 20, 1521 he was gravely injured when a cannonball struck his right leg. He returned to his father’s castle in Loyola and he underwent surgery (before anesthesia!). He would limp for the rest of his life.

While recovering from surgery, he underwent a deep religious conversion. The only books available were the lives of the saints and the life of Christ. He noticed the interior difference in his soul between reading these holy works and the stories he normally read about chivalry and romance. He noticed the dissatisfaction and desolation that he experienced while thinking heroic dreams. Yet when he thought about the life of Jesus Christ and the saints – he experienced joy and peace.

This method of meditation and attentiveness to the interior movements of the soul formed the basis of his Spiritual Exercises. He formulated this work while living in a cave outside of the town of Manresa. Along with St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter Faber, he eventually founded the Society of Jesus, which is a religious order.

The Jesuits are an active religious order – traditionally involved in missionary work, education, and formation. This makes their spirituality, in my opinion, particularly suited for people who live active lives. Over the last few months, I’ve experienced great fruit from lessons from St. Ignatius of Loyola.

As the recent Gospels have focused on prayer, it seems important for us to reflect on our own lives of prayer. Maybe St. Ignatius of Loyola can be a guide to deepen your prayer life, as he has been for me.

One word of caution. Many people write books, produce articles, and give talks about Ignatian Spirituality. I haven’t read everything, but I know there are some goofy things out there. I would recommend three authors: Fr. Bill Watson S.J. and Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V. Also Fr. Robert Spitzer’s book: Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life is wonderful. There are, of course, tons of great books about prayer. Just be careful – there are also some terrible books about prayer.

On another note, Natalie Patricio-Agosto has served as our Temporary Youth Minister for the last nine months. She filled a role in a pinch and we are extremely grateful for her generous yes. The “Temporary” part of her title has been removed. In discussing things with her, we are all excited to see the direction she can take our high school youth program. We look forward to the ways that she can help teens know, love, and serve Jesus Christ. Congratulations Natalie and we are blessed to have you here.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson