- Dec 22, 2017
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This is a great video about Ignatius of Loyola, and the Jesuit religious order he founded. The point that really stuck out to me was how long Ignatius & his followers were forming a devout, God-following group without knowing what they were doing! Imagine walking up to your pastor or campus minister with a group of friends, and saying, "We want to form a Christian organization!" And the pastor asks, "Great! What will you be doing?" And you say, as the leader of the group, "Uhh...."
Today, the Jesuits are known as great educators & scientists, deeply religious people who like to collect doctorates & teach in universities. Yet their beginning was strange, and deeply humble; "God, we want to serve you, but we don't know where. Tell us, and we'll go."
This is my prayer, and I pray for all of you, as well. Looking at the life of Ignatius, it becomes evident that we sometimes have to leave behind what we have spent our lives striving for, to find what God really wants for us. This man was trained in courtship, and ended up taking a life of celibacy, yet the courtship could be well applied to his relationship with God! Similarly, his love of battle, competition, and honor were best directed towards God; giving his life to God, and all these qualities to his relationship with Him, is what brought Ignatius lasting peace & prosperity.
A note about Ignatius that's not in this video: He is famous for his spiritual exercises (referenced in the video), and there is one that has helped me out quite a bit. In the process of his conversion, daydreams came in to play. Ignatius would daydream about being a valorous knight, winning glory & honor for himself. But at the end of the day, after he was done daydreaming, he would be full of worry & anxiety. When Ignatius thought about being a great Christian, winning glory & honor for God, he was very peaceful at the end of the day. This method has helped me with multiple life decisions, and if you do it prayerfully, I'm sure it'll help you, too. Even when you don't know where you're going, or why you feel drawn to a particular building or city or person, if the thought of going there brings you peace, and the thought of staying where you are brings anxiety...I think you can understand where God wants you to be!
May God grant us all His peace & awareness of what is really best for our lives!
