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July 31st: St. Ignatius of Loyola
Gospel text
Lk 14,25-33
Lk 14,25-33
Large crowds were walking along with Jesus, He turned and said to them, «Whoever does not follow me carrying his own cross cannot be my disciple».
Gospel's Commentary
Today is the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1492-1556). He lived years of courtly life, by dreaming with an air of "chivalrous" greatness. But his forced convalescence, owing to a serious war wound, was a providential opportunity to quietly read the lives of Jesus Christ and some saints. This "stirred up" his spirit, and he started to wonder: «What if I would do the same as Saint Francis or Saint Domingo?».
—Saint Ignatius, by stripping himself off things and dreams, began to surrender to a life of prayer and attention to others. In that voyage, some other colleagues joined him to found the Society of Jesus.