Saint Ignatius of Loyola
43. Canonisation
Much of Ignatius’ story had been told, rather reluctantly, by him to his secretary (Gonçalves da Câmara) towards the end of his life. However, the Jesuits in the early Society of Jesus were keen to know more about this rather secretive man. Jesuits were told to go to places where he had lived and ask people about him. For example, surprisingly even 50 years after a stay of less than a year in Manresa, many still remembered stories about him, some told by old people who had known him, and others told stories they had learned as children from their parents and grandparents. He had made a great impression on many people, and always for the good.
Ignatius was beatified in 1609 and canonised as a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 along with his friend and companion Francis Xavier.
A thought to ponder
We can learn a lot from people’s stories. The Church holds certain people up as ‘saints’. There is something about the lives of these people that gives good example to us. As with the case of Ignatius, we accept that saints were also sinners, but that they had a deep desire to serve the Lord as best they could. Although you probably won’t get canonised, you are called to live the life of a saint.
Ask God to give you the grace to know, love and serve God to the best of your ability.
Scripture for the Day
As a way of praying today’s Scripture we suggest Lectio Divina
Psalm 47 NRSVACE
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted
.
Music for Today
Purchase more of the music of Palastrina
Today we end the story of Ignatius
If you would like to find out more about Ignatius then you might like to read a biography or watch a feature film on his life, or if you haven’t already done so, consider making a donation to help us finance retreats like this in the future. See the buttons below…