Today the Episcopal Church remembers Ignatius of Loyola, who was born in 1491 in Spain. He was a soldier who fought in one major battle, the defense of Pamplona against the French in 1521. The professional solders knew that their position was indefensible, and proposed to surrender. Ignatius had visions of military glory, and urged his comrades to fight. He was promptly hit in the leg by a cannon ball, but his leg was badly set and failed to heal properly. It was re-broken and reset, and again it healed crookedly and left him with a permanent limp. During his convalescence, he was bedridden for many months and spent the time reading. He was given a Life of Christ which was written by a Carthusian monk. He read it, and his life was transformed.
He went on pilgrimage to Montserrat, near Barcelona, where he hung up his sword over the altar, and then spent about a year at Manresa working as a nurse and orderly in a hospital. Thereafter, he retired to a cave to live as a hermit and study The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. Ignatius probably wrote his Spiritual Exercises, a manual of Christian prayer and meditation where he directs the reader to begin with an event in the life of Christ, and to imagine the scene in detail, to replay the episode in his mind, to try to feel as if he had himself witnessed the event, and then to use this experience as a motive for love, gratitude, and dedication to the service of God.
In 1534, he and six fellow students formed a group who vowed to travel to Jerusalem and there preach the Gospel. This group later took the name, “The Society of Jesus,” and were nicknamed “the Jesuits.”
He went on pilgrimage to Montserrat, near Barcelona, where he hung up his sword over the altar, and then spent about a year at Manresa working as a nurse and orderly in a hospital. Thereafter, he retired to a cave to live as a hermit and study The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. Ignatius probably wrote his Spiritual Exercises, a manual of Christian prayer and meditation where he directs the reader to begin with an event in the life of Christ, and to imagine the scene in detail, to replay the episode in his mind, to try to feel as if he had himself witnessed the event, and then to use this experience as a motive for love, gratitude, and dedication to the service of God.
In 1534, he and six fellow students formed a group who vowed to travel to Jerusalem and there preach the Gospel. This group later took the name, “The Society of Jesus,” and were nicknamed “the Jesuits.”
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