A few days ago, on 17 september 2022, the 3rd year students from the psychology department of St.Xavier's college came with their faculty members for a workshop on " stages in counselling". There were more than 80 in number. The first sesson was about "how to activate the true belief (each one is the child of God) and how to recognize and replace the shallow belief". The second session was about ‘how to live up to that true belief in our daily life by the practice of ‘ Ignatian Daily Examen’. Everyone enjoyed the sessions.
Ignatius
summed up his early life, from 1491 to 1521 by saying, “He was a man given over
to the follies of the world.” In 1555 Ignatius humbly said that he could find
God at all times in all things. This was the growth of Ignatius from a worldly
man to a saint. It was a growth in interior freedom. With God’s grace and his
own cooperation he was able to overcome all his blocks so as to give himself
fully to God. God filled him with His love and grace and made him a saint.
Throughout his life Ignatius maintained a great accountability to God, to
others and to himself. He often engaged himself in prayer to discern the will
of God. He consulted others and was vigilant against being deceived by evil
under the appearance of good. God gave him a clear vision of life’s purpose and
filled him with love and grace so that his whole life became “a zealous service
of God with pure love.”
In Part IX
of the Constitutions Ignatius described the type of a man the General of the
Society should be. Everyone who lived with Ignatius, after reading this
account, said that Ignatius unknowingly described himself for he lived exactly in
that manner. Ignatius by the end of his life was a man very closely united with
God in prayer, and intimately connected with God in his generous service. He
possessed genuine humility. He was able to balance rectitude and the necessary
severity in dealing with others. He possessed a magnanimous heart and fortitude
of soul so as to bear the weakness of others.
Ignatius’
favourite word for himself was ‘the Pilgrim’. He was very conscious that God had
led him and taught him as a schoolmaster. His singular aim was to ‘dispose
himself’, i.e., to let God assume his actions into God’s own divine action. He
sought and found God in all things.
On 27th
July 1607 Ignatius was beatified by Pope Paul V. On 12th March 1622
Ignatius was raised to sainthood by Gregory XV along with his dear friend,
Francis Xavier.
"Placed with the Son"- A short biography of St. Ignatius
By Fr. Lawrence Dharmaraj, SJ
(From the personal study notes under the guidance of late Fr. Maurice Dullard, SJ.
A special thanks to Fr.Vincent Saldanha s.j for doing the necessary corrections))
In 1941 the first
companions met in Rome to elect a General. Francis Xavier left his vote in
writing before leaving Rome for India. Favre sent his vote from Germany. Those
gathered at Rome prayed and then voted secretly. Ignatius received all the
votes except his own. Ignatius did not accept their decision and asked for
another round of voting. So they voted again and in the second round Ignatius
received all the votes again. Ignatius still hesitated but the companions and
his confessor pointed out that he was resisting God’s clear will. Finally, he
accepted their decision, though unwillingly, on 19th April 1541.
The
companions then asked Ignatius and Codure to draw up the Constitutions for
their new order. In August 1541 Codure died so Ignatius undertook to write the
Constitutions alone. He also had to organize the Society’s works since everywhere
bishops were asking for his men. Soon the Society of Jesus took up many
educational works all over the world. They also engaged in training priests and
students. The first Jesuit school was built in Goa in 1543 by Francis Xavier.
In Rome a seminary for training of priests, the Roman College, was built in
1551.
These new
works required Ignatius to write letters to bishops, kings, leaders and his
companions scattered all over the world. These letters were his wonderful means
of union and communication. Ignatius wrote nearly 7000 letters. In those days
there were no type writers so all the letters and their duplicates had to be
hand written. On the day he died about 200 letters were sent out.
In 1550
Ignatius had finished writing the Constitutions and then he called the
companions to Rome and took their advice. After finalizing the Constitutions he
sent Nadal to explain the same to those who had not come to Rome. Ignatius kept
on working on the Constitutions till he died on 31st July 1556.
( Coming up next. 15. Ignatius the Saint )
"Placed with the Son"- A short biography of St. Ignatius
By Fr. Lawrence Dharmaraj, SJ
(From the personal study notes under the guidance of late Fr. Maurice Dullard, SJ.
A special thanks to Fr.Vincent Saldahna s.j for doing the necessary corrections))
The Pope
began sending them out of Rome, and even out of Italy, for the mission of the Church.
The little group began to be scattered. In 1539 during Lent they were all back
in Rome and held an important meeting. They asked themselves two questions: a) Do
they need to keep the union of this group? b) Do they need to take a vow of
obedience to one of their group members as a means of deepening their union?
They spent much time in prayer, discussion and searching for God’s will. They
reflected on how God had brought them together from Spain to Paris, and from
Paris to Rome. After due reflection and prayer they discerned that it was God’s
will that they should take a vow of obedience to bind themselves together and remain
united as a group. They did not want to join one of the existing religious
orders. They strongly felt that God had called them together as companions of
Jesus and that was the La Storta grace for them.
As making
their decision they asked the Pope for permission to form a new religious order.
Ignatius was asked by the group to draw up the document regarding their aims
and charism. Ignatius completed the work in June 1539 and presented it to the
Pope. The Pope had read it and gave an oral approval for the new order. He asked
the cardinals to study the document and to draw up an official letter of
approval for the new order.
The process
of the approval of the new religious order took time as some of the cardinals
were objecting to the new ideas of Ignatius. Ignatius did not lose heart. He
and his companions offered may Masses and asked their influential friends to
talk to the Pope and to the cardinals. Finally, on 27th September
1540 the Pope Paul III, approved the new religious order, ‘The Society of Jesus’.
Ignatius could now look back to the cannon-ball wound at Pamplona and could see
how God had led him up this moment. However, his pilgrimage was not over. A lot
more still needed to be done. They were required to fight for God under the
banner of the Cross in the Society of Jesus under the special direction of the
Pope.
(Coming up next.14. Ignatius the General)
"Placed with the Son"- A short biography of St. Ignatius
By Fr. Lawrence Dharmaraj, SJ
(From the personal study notes under the guidance of late Fr. Maurice Dullard, SJ.
A special thanks to Fr.Vincent Saldanha s.j for doing the necessary corrections))
Ignatius
arrived in Rome in November 1537. He and his companions were soon busy
preaching and giving the Spiritual Exercises. They had to suffer great
persecution in Rome from Michael Landivar who had been friendly with him in
Paris but had now turned against the group, especially against Ignatius. Only
when their name was cleared did Ignatius and his companions present themselves
to the Pope.
Pope Paul
III was anxious to reform the Church but did not have enough priests who were
both learned and holy. So when this group of well trained and deeply spiritual
priests offered themselves to him to do anything that he would ask them to do,
the Pope exclaimed, “The finger of God is here”. He soon gave all of them work
in and around Rome.
This little
group still hoped that they would get a chance to go to the Holy Land. Knowing
their secret desires to go to the Holy Land, the Pope Paul III asked them, “Why
do you want to go to the Holy Land? Italy is indeed a true and good Jerusalem
if you want to yield fruit for the Church of God.” These words of the Pope had
a great effect on Ignatius. He came to the realization that the kingdom of God
was not just in the Holy Land. In fact, every land was Holy Land and every
place was the true Jerusalem, especially if they were sent by Christ’s Vicar,
the Pope.
Ignatius had
not yet said his first Mass as he hoped to say it in Bethlehem where Our Lord
was born. On Christmas night 1538, in the crypt of St. Mary Major, Ignatius
said his first Mass with great devotion and he gave up his desire of going to
the Holy Land. Now onwards he and his companions would find the kingdom of God
everywhere. They were engaged in working unreservedly for the Pope. In addition
to the teaching and sacramental works, Ignatius and his companions begged food
and cared for the poor. In the winter of 1538, the companions fed and housed
over 3000 poor people who otherwise would have died in the snow. The population
of Rome in 1538 was only 40000.
( Coming up next. Chapter 13.Ignatius and the Society of Jesus. )
"Placed with the Son"- A short biography of St. Ignatius
By Fr. Lawrence Dharmaraj, SJ
(From the personal study notes under the guidance of late Fr. Maurice Dullard, SJ.
A special thanks to Fr.Vincent Saldanha s.j for doing the necessary corrections))
After his
ordination Ignatius worked with Favre and Laynez in Vicenza in Northern Italy.
In Italy he received great favours from God similar to those that he had received
at Manresa. He was praying to Our Lady that he be placed with her Son i.e., be
able to follow Jesus and imitate Him in the apostolic works.
In September
1537 Ignatius and his companions decided to go to Rome. Before leaving they
decided that if anyone would ask them who they were and they would say, “We are
the Company or the Society of Jesus” because Jesus alone was their head. The
companions went to Rome in small groups. Ignatius went with Laynez and Favre.
On the way Ignatius felt that God was about to give him a special grace so he
asked his companions to pray fervently. At the village of La Storta, about 20
kms north of Rome, as Ignatius was praying in a roadside chapel, he saw Jesus
carrying His cross. Next to Jesus was the God the Father. Ignatius heard the
Father saying to Jesus, “I want you to take this man as your servant (companion
in work). Then he saw Jesus turning to Ignatius and saying, “We want you to
serve us.” The Father then said to Ignatius, “I will be helpful to you in Rome.”
Ignatius realized that his prayer to Our Lady had been answered and that he had
been placed by the Father with the Son. He realized that he was called to be in
companionship with Jesus, i.e., to help Jesus in bearing His cross in the world
through the Vicar of Christ.
Ignatius
felt deeply united with Jesus and offered himself to labour for the Glory of
God at La Storta. Later, Ignatius and his companions realized that the Father’s
favour was not just for Ignatius alone but was also meant for the entire group.
Ignatius and his companions dedicated their lives to work together with Jesus
for the Glory of the Father because the Father had placed them with His Son.
Ignatius always regarded the La Storta experience as one of the greatest graces
that he received in his life - for him and for the Society of Jesus.
( Coming up next. Chapter 12.Ignatius in Rome. )
"Placed with the Son"- A short biography of St. Ignatius
By Fr. Lawrence Dharmaraj, SJ
(From the personal study notes under the guidance of late Fr. Maurice Dullard, SJ.
A special thanks to Fr.Vincent Saldanha s.j for doing the necessary corrections))
