The celebration of the feast of St.Ignatius in the Pre-novitiate.

THE FEAST OF ST.IGNATIUS. Jagdishkumar.G
Introduction.
Each and every person is a supreme gift of God. All are gifted with unique talents. Some are good in singing and others are good in playing. Some have the ability to speak very well while some others are good in drawing, dancing, music etc.. Similarly St.Ignatius too had a special gift from God – the gift of finding God in all things and persons.
Preparation for the Feast.
Prior to the feast, we had novena prayers to St.Ignatius. By the grace of novena prayers, I regained my confidence in my vocation. Besides saying the novena prayers I used to pray at night before going to sleep. I prayed for my good health and thanked the Lord for my vocation to the pre-novitiate.
Mass.
The feast day mass was celebrated by Fr.Cedric Prakash. He gave us a good sermon. In the sermon he talked about the life of St.Ignatius. The mass was very meaningful to us. All sang very well. Finally we sang the Ignatian march at the end of the mass and we greeted each other.
Hymns.
We sang hymns in different languages, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi and in English. It was a great joy to sing in different languages. We sang those hymns wonderfully. Moreover we prayed in our own mother tongues and that made us to feel at home.
Skit and Quiz.
We were all divided into three groups. Each group had six members in it. Everyone participated in the skit as well as in the quiz. The quiz was on the life of St.Ignatius and on the life of the missionaries in Gujarat. Through this event I gained much knowledge about the life of St.Ignatius and about the life of the missionaries in Gujarat.
The new learning.
I have been celebrating the feast of St.Ignatius of Loyola since 1996. But this time I learned more about the life of St.Ignatius and his spirituality. He was not only a leader and guide some 500 years ago, but he is a leader and guide for me today. He converted St.Francis Xavier by uttering the words of Jesus “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and looses his soul”. It made an impact on the life of St.Francis Xavier. These words of Jesus are resounding in my ears even today. They are challenging me to deeper conversion of heart. Over all it was a memorable feast.

Pawer Jagdishkumar G
Second Year pre-novice.