"O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you." - 1 Timothy 6:20
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Great Quote
"Teach us to give and not to count the cost""Lord Jesus Christ, take away my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will. Your love and your grace are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen."
-St. Ignatius of Loyola
Biography
Ignatius was born in the castle of Loyola in Guipuzcoa, Spain. In 1517 Ignatius joined the army and successfully defended a small town of Pamplona against the French where both of his legs were wounded, one by a cannonball. After experiencing conversion from reading a life of Jesus he studied theology at the University of Paris and received a masters degree. He then went on to found the Society of Jesus in 1534, which was approved in 1537 by Pope Paul III. Ignatius served as the first Superior General of the order. After dying in Rome in 1556 of stomach ailments he was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. He is best known world wide for his Spiritual Exercises.Guarding the Deposit
Popular to contrary opinion the Society of Jesus was not actually founded as a response to the Reformation. St. Ignatius and his companions intended to convert Muslims, then to help the poor and educate the young of all classes. With the absolute loyalty to the pope that the Jesuits practiced though they ended up being instrumental in the Counter Reformation. They were willing fully offer their services to the pope to go anywhere he deemed necessary. [1]
Their document "Rules for Thinking with the Church" states: ""If we wish to proceed securely in all things, we must hold fast to the following principle: What seems to me white, I will believe black if the hierarchical Church so defines. For I must be convinced that in Christ Our Lord, the bridegroom, and in His spouse the Church, only one Spirit holds sway, which governs and rules for the salvation of souls. For it is by the same Spirit and Lord who gave the Ten Commandments that our Holy Mother Church is ruled and governed." [2]
Since the Church had been weakened by theological dissent and laxity from those within the Church the Jesuits took up the cause through Catholic renewal and by defending the Church against those who worked against her. Ignatius especially sought that the defense of the faith be done in all charity and it be done with special care so that the statements the Church made in order to defend herself were not misunderstood. Ignatius sought that whenever the Church were to speak about the faith that she would do so with the intention that a Protestant might be listening. Ignatius knew that if the Church might simply speak ill of the Protestants in a way which lacked Christian love then chances were that they would not win that Protestant for Christ. At the same time Ignatius did not intend that Catholic truth should be compromised in any way, but that the faith be shared in such a way that it was clear and without contempt.[3] So Ignatius protected the Deposit of Faith by catechizing and defending the faith in such a way that did not demean or ridicule the person who had left the Catholic Church, and at the time was absolutely uncompromising to the proclamation of the Truth. For Ignatius of Loyola it seems,method was truly at the service of content.
Igntius' order continues to serve the Church today. The Society of Jesus has left a legacy and a mark on the Church as many other great Jesuit saints followed after Ignatius including Saint Peter Canisius and St. Francis Xavier. His Spiritual Exercises also lead to great reform and renewal in the Church as both religious and laity were able to read and follow the instructions that lead to great inner spiritual growth and devotion to Jesus and the Church. It is fitting then that it is said "wherever the Jesuit preached, the church was too small for the audience."[4] Especially then of Ignatius one person rightly said "To gain others to Christ he made himself all things to all men, going in at their door and coming out at his own."[5]
1. Connor, Charles. The Counter-Reformation: Ignatius and the Jesuits. Accessed 10 Feb. 2007 http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/cconnor_ignatius_aug05.asp.
2. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, trans. Louis J. Puhl, S.J. (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1951), 160.
3. Conner, http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/cconnor_ignatius_aug05.asp.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.