- Feb 5, 2002
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St. Ignatius knew what it was to have a heart called by heaven and a mind trapped in sadness.
In a secluded cave, near the Catalonian town of Manresa, there was a man. The dancing candlelight pulsed over his clasped hands like a heartbeat. He stood uneven on his knees, for one leg had been rendered shorter from having been wounded in a battle.
“Lord, why is this happening?” he surely must have whispered while praying in that cave.
This praying man had converted recently, in the year of Our Lord 1521, while recovering from the wound that he’d received in battle. As penance he’d given his belongings away and hung his sword and dagger at Our Lady’s Altar in the town of Montserrat. He’d been living since like a holy fool by begging for his keep.
His conversion was genuine, and yet dark thoughts had consumed his mind in the days since, that his own mind had become his own demon. He’d been considering suicide, obsessively on some days, and only his fear of offending God had prevented him from plunging a dagger into his own wrist.
Continued below.
Do You Suffer From Depression? St. Ignatius of Loyola Has Been There Too
In a secluded cave, near the Catalonian town of Manresa, there was a man. The dancing candlelight pulsed over his clasped hands like a heartbeat. He stood uneven on his knees, for one leg had been rendered shorter from having been wounded in a battle.
“Lord, why is this happening?” he surely must have whispered while praying in that cave.
This praying man had converted recently, in the year of Our Lord 1521, while recovering from the wound that he’d received in battle. As penance he’d given his belongings away and hung his sword and dagger at Our Lady’s Altar in the town of Montserrat. He’d been living since like a holy fool by begging for his keep.
His conversion was genuine, and yet dark thoughts had consumed his mind in the days since, that his own mind had become his own demon. He’d been considering suicide, obsessively on some days, and only his fear of offending God had prevented him from plunging a dagger into his own wrist.
Continued below.
Do You Suffer From Depression? St. Ignatius of Loyola Has Been There Too