Thursday, July 31, 2025

 

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest

(Exodus 40:16-21.35-38, Matthew 13:47-53)

Today the Church celebrates St. Ignatius, one of the founders and the first leader of the Jesuit Order.  Established almost 500 years ago, the Jesuits, as they are called, have been both effective and controversial.  They staunchly defended the Church during the Reformation and have been at the forefront of missionary activity and higher education since then.  At times they clashed with kings, governments, and prelates which led to their being expelled from different countries.

The foundation of the Jesuits fulfilled Jesus’ description of worthy scribes in today’s gospel.  They combined the new order – particularly Renaissance learning and military discipline – with the old – gospel piety and devotion to the pope – to become the most influential religious congregation of the last half millennium.

We may not have a Jesuit vocation or even agree that the order has had an overall positive effect on the world.  Yet we can admire and emulate St. Ignatius of Loyola.  He was a man of dogged courage, perceptive understanding, and outstanding love of the Lord. 

Friday, July 31, 2020

Memorial of Saint Ignatius Loyola, priest

(Jeremiah 26:1-9; Matthew 13:54-58)

Today’s first reading dramatizes a prophetic oracle.  God tells Jeremiah what he must say to the people of Judah.  He must tell them to repent of their sinful ways and live according to the Torah.  If they do not -- God wants it known – Jerusalem, their capital, will be annihilated like Shiloh in the north.  It is too big a toad for the people to swallow.  They respond to Jeremiah by calling for his head.

The spiritual sons of St. Ignatius of Loyola have included many prophets.  God has often called Jesuits to speak out against injustice.   Some of those who answered the call have paid for the privilege with their lives. In 1989 six Jesuit priests of the University of Central America in El Salvador were murdered by the Salvadoran army.  Because they had defended the poor, they were considered subversives.  They were prophets in the line of Jeremiah and the martyred archbishop of El Salvador, St. Oscar Romero. 

Jesuits stand out in the Church for their numbers, their education, and the many institutions they administer.  Their most famous member is Pope Francis.  They deserve our admiration.  They also need our prayers especially today, the feast of their founder.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest

(Exodus 32:14-24.30.34; Matthew 13:31-35)

St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus to be like yeast in today’s gospel parable.  Although relatively few in comparison to the great numbers they serve, Jesuits have a tremendous enhancing effect.  Their power results from education but even more than that from a Christ-centered spirituality which gives them the focus and drive of St. Paul.   

Jesuits also go into the world which may be compared to the three measures of wheat flour.  In the beginning their mission was not to found monasteries where people could come for sanctification or communities from which they could go forth and retreat to preach the gospel.  No, they have traditionally been associated with the “front lines” engaging the people with an authentic interpretation of the gospel. 

The achievement of the Jesuits has been impressive.  Like the “whole batch” of bread mentioned in the gospel parable, Jesuits have been instrumental in bringing many to Christ.  They have established centers of learning throughout the world.  They have become not only among the best of theologians, but leaders in every ministry field.  As much as anyone Pope Francis epitomizes what the Jesuits.  He is well-learned but humble.  He can rub shoulders with the powerful but is at home with the poor.  He has accomplished much in his eighty years but is above all a prayerful man dependent upon God.