by Paul on September 9, 2009
It is impossible to talk about Ignatian Spirituality without immediately going to the person of Jesus Christ. Iñigo (Saint Ignatius of Loyola) was a romantic and chivalrous courtier before his conversion who believed in grand gestures of personal devotion. When Iñigo experienced his conversion, his character didn’t change and so he turned his warm and affectionate heart towards Jesus and dedicated himself to serving his Lord and Savior in the same total way he had previously served the courtly life.
In John 5:15 we hear Jesus say, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” Iñigo took this very seriously and when the time came to give a name to the group that was coalescing around him, he insisted that they be called “companions of Jesus,” (a title which translates in English into Society of Jesus.) Jesus is at the center of everything Ignatian and, therefore, so is the Church.
Although a romantic, Iñigo was also an immensely practical person. A near contemporary of Martin Luther and aware of all that the Reformation wrought, he was by no means blind to the often bruised and broken nature of the Catholic Church, but he was completely devoted to its support and defense. For Iñigo, loving Jesus means loving the Church.
This is the first time I’ve ever posted three times in a single day. But there is a reason. Friday is the feast day of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. In his honor, Loyola Press will be giving away five copies of Hearts on Fire. If you would like to enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post. You can enter between today and Friday. Winners will be announced next Monday morning. You can receive extra chances to win by visiting dotMagis, Ignatian Spirituality on Facebook, and our Twitter updates.
Boy, oh boy. I sometimes get the strangest requests. I arrived into work this morning to find a voice message from one of my colleagues asking me for 5 “fun facts” about St. Ignatius Loyola that could be used for his feast day on July 31st. Here’s what I came up with:
- The youngest of 13 children.
- Was hauled up before the Spanish Inquisition on a number of occasions.
- At age 33, he joined a class of young children so he could learn Latin.
- Once allowed the donkey he was riding on to determine whether he’d follow and murder someone he thought had insulted the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- He sometimes cried with so much devotion at Mass that he couldn’t continue and feared he’d lose his eyesight.
Is there any “fun” thing about Ignatius I’ve neglected to mention?
by Paul on April 27, 2009
Committing yourself to “contemplation in action” or, rather, becoming a “contemplative in action” is a challenging undertaking and, like all things related to the Divine, depends far more on God’s love and grace than it does on any decision or action I might make. Eastern traditions talk about “mindfulness” and it is a valuable concept, but I think the “contemplative in action” is more concerned with “Godfulness.”
[click to continue...]
by Paul on January 15, 2009
Naturally, as a Jesuit, I am incredibly fond of Ignatius, Francis Xavier and a host of other (official and unofficial) saints of the Society of Jesus. Beyond the Jesuits, the Church offers me a rich array of wonderful saints and Jim Martin’s My Life With the Saints, which many of you may already have read, was a great refresher course in how to make the saints an more active part of my spiritual life.
Why, then, when I lose something don’t I pray to St. Anthony or to St. Joseph of Cupertino when a plane ride gets bumpy? Whenever I feel the need to call upon a saint, I inevitably go straight to St. Jude, the patron of “lost causes,” and ask for his help and intercession.
I think it’s because I assume that everything else is going to fail and so I might as well go straight to the court of last appeal. How Irish is that?
by Paul on January 6, 2009
Several years ago, my Jesuit classmate in Japan, Akamatsu-San, had the misfortune to have his family home burn down. They lost everything. To my surprise, he told me that the thing his family missed most was their photographs. Furniture and appliances could be replaced, but none of their family snapshots could be recreated.
Over the years, I’ve sometimes wondered what I would grab from the house in the face of some dreadful catastrophe. I’m lucky that my sister has copies of all our family photographs, so I’ve decided that, if I have to leave my room suddenly, the two things I’d want to take with me are the picture of Ignatius Loyola given to me by my Novice Master for my ordination and the Celtic pewter Crucifix that was handed to me in Dublin on the 24th September 1976 when, as a very callow youth, I was presented with my Vow Cross.
Both these items have been beside my bed for decades and have traveled with me from Dublin to Paris to Tokyo to Syracuse to Los Angeles and now to two different communities in Chicago. I pray that they will always be close to me ( but I do realize that it more important for Jesus and Inigo to be in my heart and soul than at my bedside.)
by Paul on December 19, 2008
The other day I showed you the Creche from our Community Chapel. Today, I want to share with you a statue of Ignatius Loyola in the same chapel that I have come to love. I don’t know much about it, although I was told that it came from the Philippines.
What I especially like about this statue is that, although serious looking, he is not at all intimidating (as he can appear to me in some other portrayals.) It might be because the statue is fairly small, but I also think it has to do a lot with his facial expression which seems sober, but somehow friendly.
by Paul on December 16, 2008
An astute reader sent me the following email:
Paul,
Here’s an item for your blog. Cate Blanchett named her baby after Ignatius Loyola:
Cate also denied she and Andrew chose the name Ignatius for their baby as a tribute to outrageous rocker Iggy Pop, insisting it is in honor of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.
She explained to Interview magazine: “Of course one thinks of Iggy Pop. But it’s Ignatius Loyola.”
http://www.myparkmag.co.uk/articles/celebrity/cate-blanchetts-baby-duty.html
If you click on the article, you may come away slightly less edified than you might expect. She apparently explains that it’s her duty to have lots of babies because she’s “halfway decent looking… that’s why we have to have more of them.”
Subscribe to
