Today (July 31st) is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, commemorating the life and work of the founder of the Jesuits. As ANDY HAMILTON SJ writes, St Ignatius Loyola’s recognition of the need for a vision of human life and of our relationships to one another continues to inspire and drive the work of Jesuit Social Services.
It is easy to imagine Saints and Founders as living in a simpler world than our own. That is certainly not true of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits and so a central figure in our story at Jesuit Social Services. He lived in a culture that glorified ambition, courage, a noble appearance, idealisation and exploitation of women, violence, and victory in battle. Not to mention religious and ethnic prejudice. In his late twenties he was fully a man of his time, ambitious, a courtier and soldier given to violence, ambition in love and war. His faith was tribal and stood in unrecognised tension with his way of living.
Then a cannonball that shattered his leg and gait in battle challenged both his tribal Christian faith and his vision of himself as a combative and attractive courtier and military leader. In his naïve project of becoming a solitary saint he then confronted the shallowness of his faith, suicidal despair, and also discovered a gift for self-reflection. This took him on a journey of deep faith in which he recognised his religious prejudice, discovered his gift for helping others, particularly women, reflect on their lives, lived like a tramp, and faced the dangers of travel from poverty, hostile soldiers, floods and plague. He visited but was not allowed to stay in the Holy Land, then under Muslim rule, and after his return to Spain was investigated by the Inquisition as a suspect unlicensed evangelist.
Forced to study in order to preach, he was then able to find companions whom he taught to reflect on their lives and deepen their faith. They were the foundation of the Society of Jesus. The core of his life and commitment and that of his followers was his relationship with God in prayer and his commitment to follow the way of Christ. This was a vision which would gather like-minded people together to live by it and to persuade others. The Church was a place for living and sharing that vision. Ignatius and his friends placed themselves at its service.
Relatively few Australians today share that faith vision. And indeed at Jesuit Social Services our mingling diversity of philosophy with unity of spirit is a cause for pride. But Ignatius move to interiority and his search for companions given to discern the movements of the heart and the human drama at the heart of his times, speak to us all. He had become part of this drama by sharing the life of people who lived precariously. He also recognised the need for a vision of human life and of our relationships to one another to our world which went beyond what could be counted, amassed and competed for, and in which person is worth giving our life to.
That is his legacy to Jesuit Social Services.
