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Offering and Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. | |
Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) |
This famous founder of the Jesuits was born in 1491. He was from a Spanish
noble family. As a boy, he was sent to be a page at the royal court. There he
lived on the desire to someday become a great soldier and marry a beautiful
lady. Later, he did, indeed, win honor for his courage in the battle of
Pamplona. However, a wound from a cannon ball forced him to spend months in bed
at Loyola Castle. Ignatius asked for some books to read. He preferred stories of
knights, but only biographies of Jesus and the saints were available. Having
nothing else to do, he read them. Gradually, the books began to make an
impression on him. His life began to change. He said to himself: "These
were men and women like me, so why can't I do what they have done?" All the
glory he had wanted before seemed worthless now. He began to imitate the saints
in their prayers, penances and good works.
St. Ignatius had to suffer
temptations and humiliations. Before he could begin his great work of starting
the Society of Jesus, he had to go back to school. He had to study Latin
grammar. The rest of the students were little boys and Ignatius was
thirty-three. Yet Ignatius went to the class because he knew he would need this
knowledge to help him in his ministry. With patience and even a laugh now and
then, he took the boys' jeers and taunts. During this time, he tried to teach
and encourage people to pray. For this he was suspected of heresy and put in
jail for a while! But that was not going to stop Ignatius. "The whole city
does not contain as many chains as I desire to wear for love of Jesus," he
said. Ignatius was forty-three when he graduated from the University of Paris.
With six other students, he professed religious vows in 1534. Ignatius and his
companions who were not yet priests were ordained in 1539. They promised to work
for God in whatever way the Holy Father thought best. In 1540 their order was
officially recognized by the pope. Before Ignatius died, there were one thousand
members of the Society of Jesus or "Jesuits." They were doing much
good work teaching and preaching. Ignatius often prayed, "Give me only your
love and your grace. With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask."
St. Ignatius died in Rome, on July 31, 1556. Pope Gregory XV proclaimed him a
saint in 1622.
St. Ignatius read biographies of Jesus and the saints.
These books gave him a deeper awareness of Jesus, Mary and the Church. We, too,
can choose books of lives of saints for the encouragement we need to be generous
followers of Jesus.