The Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola “Go and Set the World on Fire”

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus was born in 1491 in the Basque Country of Northern Spain to parents of distinguished families in that area. He was the youngest of 13 children and was called Iñigo. At the age of 15, he served as a page in the court of a local nobleman and later embraced a military career and became a valiant soldier.Wounded by a cannonball in the battle of Pamplona, breaking his one leg and injuring the other, he was taken prisoner by the French, who set his leg and eventually let him be brought home to Loyola. He spent his time recuperating at the home of his brother. Confined to his sick bed, he was given pious books to read, which he grudgingly accepted.

To his surprise, he enjoyed them and began to dream of becoming a “knight of Christ,” pursuing the ideals of St. Francis and St. Dominic. He eventually promised to devote his life to being a knight for St. Peter if he recovered, which he did after nine months of convalescence.

Ignatius noticed that after doing good deeds for the Lord, he felt peaceful – which he termed as a “consolation,” but when he thought of being a successful soldier or of impressing beautiful ladies where he had initially felt enthusiastic about he later felt dry and empty.

Through this process of discernment, Ignatius was able to recognize that God was leading him to follow a path of service. Out of this experience he wrote his famous “Spiritual Exercises.” After traveling and studying in different schools, he finished in the University of Paris, where he received his degree at the age of 43.

Many initially hated St. Ignatius because of his humble and austere lifestyle. Perhaps he appeared queer to them. Despite this, he attracted many followers at the university, including Francis Xavier, who became a saint. And they soon started his order, the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits.

Ignatius traveled to Europe and the Holy Land, and then settled in Rome to direct the Jesuits. His health suffered in later years, and he was nearly blind at death. He died at the age of 65.

The spirituality of St. Ignatius, (Ignatian Spirituality) was founded mainly on his own transformation from the experience of the Spiritual Exercises. A glimpse of this spirituality can be gathered from the quotes and sayings of him, such as – “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” (For the greater glory of God) which guided all his decisions and actions.

This was based on the Principle and Foundation of his Spiritual Exercises, which can be paraphrased as follows: “God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God’s purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven.

All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know Him better, love Him more surely, and serve Him more faithfully. As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as these help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God.

But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go. “Therefore, the guiding principle of our life and action should always be “For the Greater Glory of God.”

Closely connected to this motto is “Magis” to do more, to give more. Love always seeks for more ways to give and to love. Another aspect of this is to be “Insignis,” to be outstanding and heroic – never to be satisfied with mediocrity when it comes to loving and serving God and our brothers and sisters.

This is also the practice of his spiritual discernment. It is not just a choice between good and evil, it is rather a matter of choosing the greater good. Another basic foundation of his spiritual life was the commitment to follow the Christ crucified for us, and to the mission with Christ.

This was behind the words he gave to St. Francis Xavier, as he sent Francis to his missionary activities in the Far East: “Go forth and set the world on fire.” Another principle that guided Ignatius’ work was: “Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God,” and “To give, and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will.”

Ignatian spirituality is not a miracle-oriented spirituality or what we call “a sunshine spirituality” in which the cross has no place. In Ignatian spirituality the cross is very central. In one meditation during the first part of the Spiritual Exercises, the retreatant is confronted with Jesus crucified out of love for us. And he reflects on “What have I done for Jesus?” “What am I doing for him?” and “What ought I to do for him?”

In the vision Ignatius encountered at La Storta on his way to Rome, he saw Jesus carrying the cross. And Ignatius prayed to the Father to “place me with your Son.”

Later he advised someone complaining of her suffering: “If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity.”

Although the cross is central to Ignatian spirituality, it is not a sad and gloomy kind of spirituality. At one point he commented: “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.”

And he also advises: “Laugh and grow strong.”

Let’s conclude by joining St. Ignatius in his Prayer for Generosity:

Lord, teach me to be generous, teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do Your will.

Amen.