Saint Ignatius of Loyola: A saint for difficult times

When Ignatius of Loyola found himself bedridden with a shattered leg, all his great dreams and plans were left in the past. Arrogant, stubborn and strong-tempered, Ignacio was a soldier at his core and excelled on the battlefield.

Until that moment, his life as a Spanish soldier stretched out before him: simple, direct and glorious. But this time, a cannonball had destroyed one of his legs. His glorious military career was over. Ignacio was at a dead end.

This was only the first of many dead ends, but ultimately they were part of the process of becoming a saint. Sometimes it is too easy to imagine that the saints’ path to holiness was simple, that, despite any illness or temptation from Satan, they at least knew clearly what God’s will for them was. But for almost 20 years after his conversion, Ignatius had very little idea of ​​what he was doing. He faced failures, disappointments, illnesses and severe spiritual darkness. His journey offers us a battle plan for navigating our own dead ends.

A sudden end can be a new beginning

Many know the classic story of Ignatius’s famous conversion on his sickbed: bored and restless, he asked for novels of romance and chivalry, but they gave him the “Life of Christ and the Saints.” That soldierly fervor that was once fueled by errant knights and glorious battles found new energy in the selfless zeal of the saints. Ignatius unconditionally offered his life to Christ. What initially seemed like the end of all his dreams suddenly became the door to a whole new life.

Inspired by the fervor of the saints, Ignatius immediately began an intense regimen of prayer, sacrifice, and poverty. But his prayer was riddled with scruples and depression. Ignatius was so tormented that, according to the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, he was tempted to take his own life.

“Though I pass through a dark valley, I will fear no evil, because you go with me.”

Although overwhelmed by this darkness, Ignatius clung to the knowledge that any tendency toward anxiety and despair did not come from God. No doubt this knowledge offered little comfort at first, but Ignatius was slowly relieved. Through perseverance in prayer and complete trust in God’s loving kindness, he had made it through what must have been the darkest nights of his life and come out on the other side.

Great holiness is forged in daily sacrifice

Ignatius never lost his love of prayer and sacrifice, and the insights he gained in contemplation became his famous Spiritual Exercises. The Jesuit order began as a group of university friends who he gathered to pray these “spiritual exercises.”

Through prayer, sacrifice, and patient suffering, Ignatius formed his own soul in virtue, and through his spiritual insights, he was able to guide many of Europe’s brightest young minds toward a life dedicated to the Church.

Our talents are gifts from God

From the beginning, Ignatius had longed to be a missionary. He was a natural leader and soldier, with all the dynamism, conviction, courage and endurance necessary for the difficult missionary life. He dreamed of converting the Turks to the Holy Land. But this plan failed when the Franciscans in charge of looking after the Christians there denied him entry to Jerusalem, according to the book The Cleaving of Christendom (The Split of Christianity) by Warren Carroll.

Disappointed, Ignatius returned to Spain to preach and teach in his homeland, but was arrested by the Inquisition, which feared that an uneducated teacher could inadvertently spread heresy.

However, his missionary fervor did not die out. And the Church desperately needed missionaries, just not in the way Ignatius had envisioned. Europe was reeling in the chaos of the Protestant Reformation. People needed clear teaching and ardent examples of holiness to return to the Church.

Ignacio had no education. He was hardly the man to found an order of teachers, and he certainly had no grand dreams of confronting the problems of Christianity. But at least he saw that, if he wanted to be an effective missionary in today’s culture, he must be well educated, and certainly he had the zeal and stubbornness necessary to take on the daunting task. So for the next 11 years, he went to school, starting in primary school with boys and moving on to study philosophy and theology at the best universities in Spain and France.

It was during his years at university that the Society of Jesus was formed. These men were attracted to Ignatius’s zeal and holiness, and they turned to him for advice and encouragement. He brought them together, and soon a brotherhood was born. The friends were ordained priests and offered themselves in humble service to the pope.

The Jesuits were sent on missions to teach and preach throughout Europe and in the new mission lands in the Far East. Ignatius, however, was left alone in Rome to manage the affairs of the order. But he had always possessed a talent for leadership, and from afar he instructed, encouraged and organized.

Within a few years, Jesuits were in demand everywhere. Ignatius had wanted to be a missionary in foreign lands, but he allowed the Lord to take him back to his native Spain, to the arduous task of education, and to ultimately use his talents of conviction and charisma to become one of the leaders of the Counter-Reformation. in Europe.

A patron saint for difficult times

Saint Ignatius is a great patron for people facing difficult times. Whether making difficult decisions, recovering from unexpected events, experiencing physical illness or spiritual darkness, Ignatius of Loyola faced similar situations.

During the period of his life when he should have been settling into a stable career, earning money and honor, and preparing for a comfortable retirement, Ignatius was reevaluating his entire worldview. Not only did he make a radical change by converting from a soldier of Spain to a soldier of Christ, but he later faced many tribulations of illness, persecution, doubt and failure. Ignatius gave his life totally to Christ, but this did not mean that his vocation was clear.

In the end, it was through prayer, sacrifice, and study that Ignatius became the holy founder of the Jesuit order. Without any expectation of greatness, Ignatius dedicated himself to doing for the Lord what he knew how to do best. He formed his own soul in virtue, and with his innate passion and talent for leadership, he began to gather and guide his friends into the same life of holiness. Almost by accident (and yet, of course, not by accident at all), the group found themselves with a mission to serve the Church at a time when the Church desperately needed them.

Ignatius did not know on that distant day when his leg was knocked off that, in the same year, the Church’s four-year attempt to reconcile with Martin Luther had reached a climax. Unable to persuade Luther to recant his heresy, the Church formally excommunicated him. The spiritual battle for Europe had begun.

At this time in history, God needed a missionary and reformer with the courage, zeal, and practical experience to confront the confusion and chaos of Europe and bring the faith to newly discovered lands. He chose Ignatius of Loyola.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in it National Catholic Register.

Editor’s Note: Jessica Pipes is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College and writes from Wildwood, Missouri. The opinions expressed in this article correspond exclusively to its author.