His Word Today: Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the liturgical Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, born circa 23 October 1491 in the Basque region of present-day Spain.  After spending some time at court and as a soldier, he experienced a call to follow Jesus.  Having been injured in battle, he was convalescing when he asked for books of fiction and tales of knight-errantry, however none were to be found.  Instead, he was presented with a book describing the life of Christ and another containing the lives of the saints.  As he read these over and over, he began to be attracted to the stories and reflected on them.  Eventually, the practice of reading these texts, combined with that of reading about worldly things led him to ponder all of them.  While he considered worldly things, he would often be excited, but this excitement would pass, while his fascination with the life of Christ and with that of the Saints continued to fill him with joy.  This discipline eventually developed into a refined method of discernment that is still known as the Discernment of Spirits.

The gospel passage chosen for this liturgical Memorial places us with Jesus and the crowds that were following him.  At a certain point, he said to them: If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple (Lk 14:26).  This translation is somewhat challenging, for Jesus never wished us to hate anyone.  However, in the light of the experience encountered by Saint Ignatius, we might consider the relationships we currently have with our fathers and mothers, our wives and children, our brothers and sisters, and even ourselves.  Are we truly happy with these, or is there something that we need to change in order to make them better?

It takes great courage to make changes, but sometimes these are necessary so that we can work at strengthening the relationships we have with others, and with God.  If we want to follow Him, if we want to learn from him, we need to ask for the grace to discern the truth of the situations we are facing.  Only then will we be able to make wise and prudent decisions.

Have a great day.