Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola – July 31


Ignatius of Loyola founded the order of the Jesuit Fathers, which he named "Society of Jesus" in the 16th century. He also bequeathed to the Church a method to do "Spiritual Exercises", which help the faithful to discern their way in life.

Ignatius was born into an aristocratic family in the Basque country, between Spain and France, in 1491. As a young man, he served in the court of the Spanish king and enlisted as a soldier in the king's army. He lived a life of licentiousness, far from any spiritual concern until he was wounded in his legs during a battle. In the long period of convalescence, which he spent in the home of his pious sister, he began to read the lives of the saints and he began to consider how he might be like them.

After much searching, which also led him to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1523, he set off to study theology first in Spain and then at the university in Paris. In 1534, in Paris, he met up with a group of students and they together made their first vows as monks. His first intention was to return to the Holy Land, however, in 1537, the group made its way to Rome to put themselves at the service of the Pope. In 1540, the Pope published the bull recognizing the "Society of Jesus" and Ignatius was named the first superior general, a post in which he served until his death in 1556. During his lifetime, he saw the order spread throughout Europe and religious were sent to China, India, Africa and beyond.

From the days of his conversion, Ignatius began to write down what would become known as the "Spiritual Exercises". In this little book, he proposed a spiritual method that helps the faithful to discern his way and make important decisions in his life. The method involves spending time in retreat (Ignatius proposes a period of four weeks) with the assistance of a spiritual guide.

See clip: Benedict XVI on Saint Ignatius here

 

 

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