Memorial of Saint
Ignatius Loyola, priest
(Jeremiah 14:22-27; Matthew 13:36-43)
The devastation of Jerusalem described in today’s first
reading may be compared to the Church in the sixteenth century. The Protestant Reformation brought about the abandonment
of monasteries. Negligence by priests of
their spiritual responsibilities fostered a spirit of rebellion among the
people. Often deadly rivalries sprung up
among families, communities, and nations.
St. Ignatius, whom we celebrate today, countered the abuses of the time
with the gospel.
Ignatius was a soldier but also an intellectual. He experienced a conversion from reading the
biographies of saints. He noted the challenge
to both peace and truth that settled upon Europe and acted to meet it. He founded the Society of Jesus whose members
would be both disciplined and learned.
They learned to refute the errors of the reformers and model the
self-sacrifice of Christ’s servants. In his
endeavor Ignatius was as successful as any founder of a religious congregation.
We not only may honor St. Ignatius but also imitate some
of his ways. His Spiritual Exercises, the program which comprises the basis of
Jesuit formation, is available to all. It
enables practitioners to experience the conversion to which the gospel calls everyone.
