Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
“Brothers and sisters: Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
Today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus (known as the Jesuits) in 1540, just two years after he was ordained a priest in Rome. The first reading for today’s Memorial Mass, taken from Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, expresses a similar message as the motto of the Society of Jesus, Ad majorem Dei Gloriam (For the greater glory of God).
Born in 1491 in the Basque region of Spain, Ignatius Lopez was the youngest of 11 children and was trained for a military career. That career abruptly ended when he was wounded in the battle of Pamplona in 1521. During his long recovery, he read The Life of Christ and several books on the lives of saints because there were no novels available. This period of recuperation, along with a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, changed the direction of Ignatius’s life. He made a pilgrimage to a mountain range north of Barcelona to venerate the famous Madonna in Montserrat. Then he settled in nearby Manresa, where he spent an extended time living in a cave. It was here that he wrote his first draft of Spiritual Exercises.
Much like our founder, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Saint Ignatius worked tirelessly to bring others closer to God by example and all for the glory of God. In the Prayer over the Gifts, we hear that the Eucharist is “the source of all holiness.” These men lived each day with that passion in their hearts. Saint Ignatius died suddenly in Rome at 65 in 1556, and his legacy lives on with the worldwide Jesuit community.
Every day, let us do everything for the glory of God!
Prayer:
Receive, Lord, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. You have given me all that I have, all that I am, and I surrender all to your divine will that you dispose of me. Give me only your love and your grace. With this, I am rich enough and have no more to ask. (Ignatius recommended this prayer to penitents.)
