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In 1597, on the same day that she went completely blind, a woman from Mallorca named Noguere was touched by the relics of Saint Ignatius. She reported that a scent of roses filled her with a sweet consolation. The acute pain in her eyes suddenly subsided. She began to see things faintly, and the next day she saw perfectly. This healing was one of the supporting miracles for the canonization of St. Ignatius Loyola.<\/p>\n
This year, beginning on May 20 and continuing until July 31, 2022, the Society of Jesus worldwide, and the entire Ignatian family, celebrate St. Ignatius\u2019 spiritual journey from the 500th anniversary of his conversion in 1521 to his canonization in 1622. In the context of this Ignatian Year, Noguere\u2019s story helps explain conversion as a process of recovering from blindness to better sight.<\/p>\n
\nNoguere\u2019s story helps explain conversion as a process of recovering from blindness to better sight<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
On May 20, 1521, in a battle at the Spanish town of Pamplona, a cannon ball broke one leg of I\u00f1igo L\u00f3pez de Loyola, and wounded the other. With the incident, I\u00f1igo had reached the bottom of what had been a rather shattered existence marred by loss and insatiable ambition. The man wounded in Pamplona was a 26-year-old orphan, who lost his parents at an early age. One of his brothers died in war. Another ventured to the Americas and never returned home. By the time of the battle of Pamplona, his new master and stepfather, Juan Vel\u00e1squez de Cu\u00e9llar, the chief treasurer of the crown, who had introduced I\u00f1igo to the court decorum and diplomacy, had lost his privileged position.<\/p>\n
Ignatius\u2019 conversion took place during his long recovery from his injuries, as he read about the lives of the saints, like Francis and Dominic. Ignatius\u2019 dreams transferred from heroic feats on the battlefield to heroically serving Christ. The bull of canonization on March 12, 1622, reported that Ignatius was called from worldly honors and earthly military service to a holy life that led to the founding of the Jesuit order and, ultimately, the consolation of souls worldwide.<\/p>\n
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\u24b8 Ignasi Flores<\/p><\/div>\n
While the general theme of this jubilee year is conversion, the underlying invitation related to this conversion is to \u201cSee everything new in Christ.\u201d (2 Cor 5:17). To see \u201cperfectly,\u201d like Noguere, or to see everything new, like St. Paul, is to first acknowledge some form of blindness. Then, when touched by Ignatius\u2019 relics\u2014which is to say, once inspired by his experience and spiritual tradition\u2014we will be able to let God console us, and so embrace our present and future with renewed hope and faith.<\/p>\n
Our world faces new challenges. Covid-19 alone has shattered our normal ways of life. We need faith to be able to see anew. The 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus in 1995 declared that \u201cwithout faith, without the eye of love, the human world seems too evil for God to be good, for a good God to exist. But faith recognizes that God is acting, through Christ\u2019s love and the power of the Holy Spirit, to destroy the structures of sin which af\ufb02ict the bodies and hearts of his children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Congregation was significant in part because it took place at a moment of self-examination for the Society. It was a moment in which, as Jesuits, as the congregation wrote, \u201cwe faced our limitations and weaknesses, our lights and shadows, our sinfulness.\u201d Yet amid the brokenness of the world, the Jesuits, \u201calso found much that was wise and good.\u201d They were able to see everything new, and recommitted themselves to \u201cfollow this Christ, the Cruci\ufb01ed and Risen Lord, in pilgrimage and labor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conversion of Ignatius was not completed instantly, following his fall in Pamplona. This incident, however, set a new course for his life. It turned his life upside down and forced him into self-examination. Out of this spiritual awakening, Ignatius had a burning desire for holiness and a zeal to do great things for God, which ultimately led him to a lengthy process of self-surrender.<\/p>\n
The appeal of this conversion today is that when confronted with a hopeless situation, Ignatius created greater intimacy with God. As he renewed his relationship with God, he was able to refocus his unsettled existence. Ignatius put God at the center of his life. He could look at the world not with fear, but with hope and the desire to set it on fire with the love of Christ.<\/p>\n
\nThe appeal of this conversion today is that when confronted
\nwith a hopeless situation, Ignatius created greater intimacy with God.<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\nThis Ignatian Year is not limited to Ignatius\u2019 conversion but culminates with his canonization. His cause was bolstered by miracles attributed to his intercession, like Noguere\u2019s recovery of sight through the use of relics. Though the language of relics and miracles itself might seem at odds with the extreme rationalism of our world, all of us are tasked to make these \u201crelics\u201d and miracles meaningful for our own time. As heirs of the Ignatian tradition, we are the guardians of Ignatius\u2019 spiritual \u201crelics.\u201d We remain indebted to the rich Ignatian tradition, which, though rooted in medieval Christianity, boldly embraced the modern world. The opportunities offered by the world of Ignatius\u2019 time shaped the Society of Jesus, which in turn helped transform the church and the way it reached out to the world.<\/p>\n
Miracles are still a part of our spiritual practice. When faced with a tragedy, an incurable disease, the loss of a job, a beloved friend or sibling, we may pray to God in the secret of our hearts to intervene. The true miracle might not be the immediate realization of our wishes or prayers for various needs. It is, instead, the consolation that grows out of the deepening of faith in God. The miracle is to believe that for those, like Ignatius, who believe in God and trust in God\u2019s care and providence, there is no accident, no tragedy or failure that they cannot overcome. The bottom that Ignatius hit in 1521 became a stepping stone for greater adventures, self-realization and success. The church considered Ignatius\u2019 journey from 1521 to 1622 exemplary for others.<\/p>\n
In Africa and its growing church, there are ample reasons for hope, but also for despair. Celebrating a jubilee reinforces our hope that things can change for the better. The sick can be healed. Peace can be restored. The joy of the Gospel can blossom. The kings of Spain, France and Bavaria were able to put aside their bloody rivalries to push for the canonization of St. Ignatius. Like them, all Christians can help build a peaceful global community and create new networks of solidarity and friendship for the greater glory of God and the service of the poorest among us. To see all things new is to renew our commitment to Ignatius\u2019 original vision of spiritual depth, love and service of the church and society.<\/p>\n
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(Images \u24b8 Ignasi Flores).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What the conversion of St. Ignatius can teach us 500 years later Fr. Jean Luc Enyegue SJ from Cameroon reflects on the significance of St. Ignatius’ conversion for us today. This article was first published in\u00a0America Magazine. In 1597, on the same day that she went completely blind, a woman from Mallorca named […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":107941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[335],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107910"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107943,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107910\/revisions\/107943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius500.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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