By Fr. Paul Robson sj
Happy feast of Saint Ignatius! (Almost! We can celebrate this Wednesday, July 31 st .)
Ignatius (or Iñigo) was born in Loyola, Spain, in 1491. He had a spiritual conversion experience at the age of 29 or 30, while lying in bed after a cannonball had shattered his leg. Later, he and his companions formed the Society of Jesus, which was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. Ignatius became the new religious order’s first Superior General. He died in Rome on July 31, 1556, and was canonized a saint in 1622.
In Ignatius’ autobiography, concerning the conversion experience after the cannonball injury, we read the following: “Little by little he came to recognize the difference between the spirits that agitated him, one from the demon, the other from God.” Similarly, in the Spiritual Exercises, he writes about movements that arise in one’s soul – and some of these movements come from the good spirit, some from the evil spirit. Ignatius wrote down some rules “for recognizing those [movements] that are good to admit them, and those that are bad, to reject them.” Let us pray that we might live lives which follow the promptings of the good spirit, and not those of the evil spirit.
Here in Wiikwemkoong, and around much of Manitoulin and the North Shore, our Catholic parishes can be considered Jesuit parishes, under the patronage and protection of St. Ignatius. St. Ignatius, guide us and pray for us!