Today is the anniversary of the canonization of Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier in 1622. Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri were also canonized on that day, making March 12, 1622, possibly the greatest day in the history of canonizations.
The painting above by the Jesuit Andrea Pozzo depicts Ignatius sending Xavier to the missions in the Far East. They never saw each other again, but their love for each other remained strong. Xavier once wrote this to Ignatius:
God our Lord knows how much my soul was consoled on receiving news of your life and health, which I cherish so highly…Your Holy Charity has written to me that you have a great desire to see me before you leave this life. God knows what an impression these words of great love made upon my soul, and how many tears they have cost me whenever I recall them; and it seems to me that I shall have this consolation since nothing is impossible to holy obedience.
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March 12, 2010
Ignatius Loyola strides through the snow at the Jesuit Retreat House in Wernersville, Pennsylvania. Photo by the Law and Gospel blogger. Go here for more on Ignatian retreats.
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March 10, 2010
Jack Mahoney, SJ, suggests we review our Lenten program. But be careful: “What we should avoid is the almost magical or superstitious feeling that whatever we do in religion must be done completely and meticulously, like completing a novena or an indulgence or a chain prayer. For one thing, the Lord may have made it clear that he has different plans for us.” He quotes and paraphrases John Calvin, who said that:
by God’s grace we are freed from having to observe rigorously and scrupulously whatever the Lord requires of us, as if we were terrified slaves. On the contrary, he points out, we are God’s beloved children; and like any devoted parent he is delighted with us when we do not hesitate to offer him trustingly ‘works that are only begun or half finished, or even with something faulty in them,’ works which a less loving observer would judge poor or inadequate.What counts, Calvin maintains, is that our ‘obedience and readiness of mind will be accepted, although the performance be less exact than was wished.’
So, where we may feel at this stage of Lent that there was more that we might have done, or could have done, the prayer, too for this Third Sunday of Lent, is highly appropriate: ‘Father, you have taught us to overcome our sins by prayer, fasting and works of mercy. When we are discouraged by our weakness, give us confidence in your love.’
Read the whole thing.
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March 9, 2010
Fr. Jim Martin has just published a new book, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. It’s an in-depth, witty, and very readable account of Ignatian spirituality, aimed at both believers and seekers. It includes chapters on desire and the spiritual life, prayer, decision making, and being contemplatives in action. Browse the contents here at the publisher’s website. NPR interviewed Fr. Martin last weekend. Listen to the interview and read an excerpt here.
Jim Martin’s previous books include My Life with the Saints (which has sold more than 100,000 copies) and A Jesuit Off-Broadway.
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March 8, 2010
Today is the traditional beginning of the Novena of Grace in honor of St. Francis Xavier, a nine-day devotion that has been popular for centuries. The first Novena of Grace dates back to 1634, when the intercession of St. Francis obtained the miraculous cure of another Jesuit. The novena ends on March 12, the date on which Francis was canonized in 1622.
The novena prayers can be found here on the Sacred Space website. Go here for background on the novena.
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March 4, 2010
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
As I gain some distance from my immersion in watching the Winter Olympics, I’ve been distilling in my mind the lasting impressions. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Olympics–it’s part Greek history, part supreme athletic comptetition, part incredible storytelling, part national/international pride. Underneath all the corporate sponsorships, the sometimes not-so-latent nationalism, the training programs that look more like crass professionalism than true amateurism–there are many human stories, and the best of these concerns the beautiful Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette.
The picture above was taken at the conclusion of her short program, the first of two skates that each competitor must undertake. Many of you already know why she looks the way she does: her mother died suddenly just days before her competition. Yet she skated beautifully, both in the short and long programs, earning a bronze medal.
Many today wonder whether happiness is possible in a world where there is suffering. I am compelled by Aristotle’s answer, that it’s a way of being at work virtuously toward an end or purpose. I saw a hint of that on the ice: Joannie pursued her goal even in the face of a terrible grief.
I think collectively our biggest mistake is to confuse happiness with pleasure. I’m certain that Joannie did not have a good time on the ice. I’m sure she was already nervous about executing her routine, terrified of the billions of people watching her, distraught that her mother could not be there, scared for her father’s having to deal with everything, and so on. It was not, I’m sure, a pleasurable experience. And yet I hazard to guess that she was happy, in Aristotle’s sense: she knew what she had to do; she persevered through the trauma, and she did it.
Ignatius writes that we are created to praise God. Joannie did that, and continues to do that, I think. I understand Ignatius to mean by “praising God” living with a beautiful purpose, and being willing to live it in the face of difficulty.
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March 4, 2010
This Lent, says Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, take the time to “bother.” He points out that the people who angered Jesus were people like the two guys who ignored the wounded man in the parable of the Good Samaritan. These are people who didn’t bother to love. He goes on:
So this Lent, instead of fasting, why not bother? Instead of a negative Lent, how about a positive one? Instead of giving up chocolate for the umpteenth year in a row, or trying to kick your smoking habit, why not bother to call a friend who’s lonely? Instead of turning off your TV, or going to the gym, bother to donate money to the poor in Haiti. Instead of passing up potato chips, bother to visit a sick relative.
In the Gospels Jesus says, “It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice.” Here’s a novel idea for Lent: why not take Jesus at his word?
Read it all.
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March 3, 2010
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