HomeJesuit HistoryLosing One’s Life

Losing One’s Life

Luis Espinal, SJ, is a Jesuit hero I hadn’t heard about.  He was a Spanish Jesuit who worked for social justice in Bolivia.  He was murdered in 1980.  He wrote this.

Losing one’s life means working for others, even though they don’t pay us back. It means doing a favor without it being returned. Losing one’s life means jumping in even when failure is the likely outcome – and doing it without being overly prudent. It means burning bridges for the sake of our neighbor.

Losing one’s life should not be accompanied by pompous or dramatic gestures. Life is to be given simply, without fanfare – like a waterfall, like a mother nursing her child, like the humble sweat of the sower of seed.

Train us, Lord, and send us out to do the impossible, because behind the impossible is your grace and your presence; we cannot fall into the abyss.

Jim Manney
Jim Manneyhttps://www.jimmanneybooks.com/
Jim Manney is the author of highly praised popular books on Ignatian spirituality, including A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer (about the Daily Examen) and God Finds Us (about the Spiritual Exercises). He is the compiler/editor of An Ignatian Book of Days. His latest book is What Matters Most and Why. He and his wife live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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