by Fr Luis David SJ

It is significant that the only miracle popularly associated with the name Ignatius Loyola is the miracle best known as the Society of Jesus. It is significant for two reasons. First, it is through this remarkable company of men who have bound themselves to his ideals, to his discipline, and to his inspiration, that he lives 450 years after his death. Second, it is something of a miracle that after the reverses, struggles, and upheavals of four centuries, Ignatius’ spiritual sons continue to do their share propagating and fortifying Christendom, as efficiently and with as much energy as before. These considerations make it obvious that Ignatius was a tremendously gifted man, a man of outstanding natural and supernatural qualities. So we commemorate not only the achievement and the heroic struggle of the Society of Jesus, but also the personal heroism of the man who made the miracle happen.

The miracle began in Loyola, in the land of the Basques, at a time when the fortunes of the Church were at a low ebb. Corruption, heresy, and vice were threatening the Church from within and from without; but these did not necessarily concern the young Inigo while he served his apprenticeship in the house hold of the major-domo of Queen Isabela. The chivalry of Spain was then in full flower, and Inigo’s mind must have echoed with tales of adventure and conquest. While in the service of the Duke of Najera a kinsman, he became chief defender of a Spanish citadel in Pamplona when it was besieged by the French. The French overcame the defenders, but not without fierce fighting during which Ignatius’ leg was shattered by a cannon ball.  He was returned in a litter to his ancestral home in Loyola, and became grievously ill as a result of his shattered leg. Eventually he began the slow, painful road to recovery.

To ease the ache and weariness of convalescence, Ignatius called for books expecting to receive such tales of high romance as were popular in his day. All that was available in the castle, however, were a Life of Christ and Lives of the Saints. Left with no alternative, he read, and read, and slowly became engrossed by tales of greater deeds of heroism than he had ever known or experienced as a courtier. Gradually the eyes of his understanding were opened. On his sick-bed he acquired a true sense of right and wrong, and an instinct for the real goal to be achieved.

The changes that came over Inigo opened the door to all sorts of new adventures, which took him to the Holy land, back to Spain, and then to France, and Italy, and back to the Holy Land. And every step of the way was a movement closer to his goal. The first step was a kind of spiritual self-purification. He sought to move closer to his goal. The first step was a kind of spiritual self-purification. He sought to move closer to God through prayer. He made notes of his attempts and from these notes came what is now called Spiritual Exercises, which as any Jesuit will tell you, is a book not to be read but to be lived, if you are serious about seeking guidance in your relationship with God.

The second step was to find a way to be of assistance to the Church in the Holy Land. After a  journey that was an ordeal of hardship and suffering, Inigo arrived in Jerusalem, only to be rebuffed by the Franciscan guardians of the holy places and ordered to return to Europe. Seeing that God did not yet want him in the Holy Land, Inigo returned his course and realized that in order for him to of greater service to others, the deficiencies of his education would have to be corrected. He therefore embarked on eleven long years of study which brought him to the Universities of Salamanca, of Alcala, and of Paris. His religious views, his manner of life and his gift of leadership gradually gathered symphatizers who became his followers. As their association grew, it gradually became clear to them that they were to be men of prayer, but their work was to be in the world. They were to be teachers and preachers and trained scholars. They were to exemplify the life of evangelical poverty. They were to renounce all rank, secular or ecclesiastical. And they were to accept the intense discipline of obedience and chastity. Inigo’s first intention was to take his little band to the Holy Land where they could do works of charity and convert the infidel. But when all likelihood of working in the Holy Land disappeared, they turned their hopes Romewards, and decided to place themselves at the disposal of the Pope. The Pope made them realize that Protestantism was on the rise, and men and women were being mustered to reserve the integrity and purity of the Church. After much discussion, long scrutiny and bitter opposition, the Society of Jesus was solemnly instituted by Papal act.

Thus, Ignatius brought into the Church a new and powerful force that has become famous not only for its spectacular progress and success, but also for the persecution and opposition it has had to endure. Cast in the mold of their founder, the members of the Society continue to penetrate the corners of the world with the Christian message of love and of salvation. They are to be found everywhere and all levels of society, remaining steadfast witness to the Name they carry.

You ask, why a miracle? The answer is obvious because the answer lies in the results. A miracle is, after all, a reminder of God’s loving presence in the world. The story of Ignatius’ life leaves no doubt that God was present in that life, and present to the world in that life. That life has become many lives, all with the same deep motivation to know, to love, and serve God, and all with the same capacity to work miracles, that is to say, to make God’s abiding presence in the world a little better noticed, a little more appreciated, a little better understood.