ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
Article by: PRATIK RICARDO GOMES - CLASS 11A
Iniqo (Ignacio - Ignatius) of Loyola was born in 1491 in
Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern
Spain. For a number of years he went about in the uniform of
a fighting man, wearing a coat of mail and breastplate, and
carrying a sword and assorted arms. Eventually he found
himself at the age of 30 in May of 1521 as an officer
defending the fortress of the town of Pamplona against the
French, who claimed the territory as their own against
Spain. The Spaniards were terribly outnumbered and the
commander of the Spanish forces wanted to surrender, but
Ignatius convinced him to fight on for the honor of Spain,
if not for victory. During the battle a cannon ball struck
Ignatius, wounding one leg and breaking the other. Because
they admired his courage, the French soldiers carried him
back to recuperate at his home, the castle of Loyola, rather
than to prison.
Conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola
During the long weeks of his recuperation, he was extremely
bored and asked for some romance novels to pass the time.
Luckily there were none in the castle of Loyola, but there
was a copy of the life of Christ and a book on the saints.
Desperate, Ignatius began to read them. The more he read,
the more he considered the exploits of the saints worth
imitating. He noticed, however, that after reading and
thinking of the saints and Christ he was at peace and
satisfied. This was the beginning of his conversion and the
beginning of spiritual discernment, or discernment of
spirits, which is associated with Ignatius and described in
his Spiritual Exercises. He had decided that he wanted to go
to Jerusalem to live where our Lord had spent his life on
earth. As a first step he began his journey to Barcelona
The Experience at Manressa
He continued towards Barcelona but stopped along the river
Cardoner at a town called Manresa. He stayed in a cave
outside the town, intending to linger only a few days, but
he remained for ten months. He spent hours each day in
prayer and also worked in a hospice. It was while here that
the ideas for what are now known as the Spiritual Exercises
began to take shape. It was also on the banks of this river
that he had a vision which is regarded as the most
significant in his life. Ignatius himself never wrote in the
rules of the Jesuits that there should be any fixed time for
prayer. Actually, by finding God in all things, all times
are times of prayer. He did not, of course, exclude formal
prayer, but he differed from other founders regarding the
imposition of definite times or duration of prayer. One of
the reasons some opposed the formation of the Society of
Jesus was that Ignatius proposed doing away with the
chanting of the Divine Office in choir. This was a radical
departure from custom, because until this time, every
religious order was held to the recitation of the office in
common. For Ignatius, such recitation meant that the type of
activity envisioned for the Society would be hindered.
The Return to School
By now he was 33 years old and determined to study for the
priesthood. However, he was ignorant of Latin, a necessary
preliminary to university studies in those days. So he
returned to school to study Latin grammar with young boys in
a school in Barcelona. After two years he moved on to the
University of Alcala.
The Company of Jesus
Ignatius, along with two of his companions, Peter Faber and
James Lainez, decided to go to Rome and place them at the
disposal of the Pope. It was a few miles outside of the city
that Ignatius had the second most significant of his
mystical experiences. At a chapel at La Storta where they
had stopped to pray, God the Father told Ignatius, "I will
be favorable to you in Rome" and that he would place him
(Ignatius) with His Son. Ignatius did not know what this
experience meant, for it could mean persecution as well as
success since Jesus had experienced both.
The Years as Superior General
Ignatius, whose love it was to be actively involved in
teaching catechism to children, directing adults in the
Spiritual Exercises, and working among the poor and in
hospitals, would for the most part sacrifice this love for
the next fifteen years. From his election as superior
general until his death he would work out of two small
rooms, his bedroom and next to it his office, directing this
new society throughout the world.
The Jesuits and Schools
Perhaps the work of the Society of Jesus begun by Ignatius
that is best known is that of education. It is interesting
that he had no intention of including teaching among the
Jesuits' works at the beginning. As already mentioned, the
purpose of the first members was to be at the disposal of
the Pope to go where they would be most needed. Before 1548
Ignatius had opened schools in Italy, Portugal, the
Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and India. These schools,
however, were intended primarily for the education of the
new young Jesuit recruits. Ten such colleges built within
six years indicated the rapid growth of the Jesuits. But in
1548 at the request of the magistrates of Messina in Sicily,
Ignatius sent five men to open a school for lay as well as
Jesuit students. It soon became clear by requests from
rulers, bishops and cities for schools that this work was
truly one of the most effective ways to correct ignorance
and corruption among the clergy and the faithful, to stem
the decline of the Church in the face of the Reformation,
and to fulfill the motto of the Society of Jesus, "Ad
Majorem Dei Gloriam,"--to the greater glory of God.
Ignatius the Person
It is probably true that the picture of Ignatius that most
people have is that of a soldier: stern, iron-willed,
practical, showing little emotion -- not a very attractive
or warm personality. Yet if this picture is exact, it is
hard to see how he could have had such a strong influence on
those who knew him. Luis Goncalves de Camara, one of his
closest associates wrote," He (Ignatius) was always rather
inclined toward love; moreover, he seemed all love, and
because of that he was universally loved by all." There was
no one in the Society who did not have much great love for
him and did not consider himself much loved by him. We
regard a number of saints as great mystics but never think
of Ignatius as one of them. We have recounted a few of the
many visions and mystical experiences in his life. His
holiness, however, did not consist in such, but in the great
love that directed his life to do everything A.M.D.G., for
the greater glory of God.
Last Illness
Ever since his student days in Paris, Ignatius had suffered
from stomach ailments and they became increasingly
troublesome in Rome. In the summer of 1556 his health grew
worse, but his physician thought he would survive this
summer as he had done others. Ignatius, however, thought
that the end was near. The former worldly courtier and
soldier who had turned his gaze to another court and a
different type of battle had rendered his soul into the
hands of God. Ignatius was beatified on July 27, 1609 and
canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 together with
St. Francis Xavier.
Ignatius' feast day is celebrated by the universal Church
and the Jesuits on July 31, the day he died and became one
with the Saviour.
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Christian Life Community
St.Xavier's Collegiate School's, Christian Life
Community (C.L.C.),
has left its footprints in the sands of time. The C.L.C. got
a fresh start under the close supervision of Fr. Sebastian
James, S.J. With the motto of "LOVE, SACRIFICE AND FAITH",
the community has been growing layer by layer, phase by
phase and ideal by ideal. It got an official structure with
Andrew Watson, of class 12, as its first President in the
academic year of 2006-07.
The next board of 2007-08 included Albert Gomes (President),
Tijo Thomas (Vice-President), George Matthew (Secretary),
Allen Gomes and Adip Daniel (Treasurers). This board
conceived the idea of 'XAVO CHRISTI', but unfortunately
plans could not move beyond the drawing board. However, the
flame of having our very own fest did not die. The present
board of 2009-10 took up the mantle of managing the
community from its previous board of Alistair Braganza
(President), Amit Hazra (Vice-President) and Debraj Boila
(Treasurer) in June, 2009. The C.L.C. is presently guided by
the constant support of Animators: Mr.Gabriel Gomes,
Mrs.Soma Gomes, Mr. Brian Gilhooly and Br.Vivek.
The C.L.C. in St.Xavier's is one of the largest bodies of
Christian Students in Kolkata. We organize a range of
activities throughout the year. A special celebrant
celebrates the Eucharistic celebration in the School Chapel.
Thus, the morning of the First Friday of every month begins
with a solemn gathering of Catholic students and Staff in
the Chapel.
On the occasion of Teacher's Day celebration in our school,
the C.L.C. organized a Eucharistic Celebration for the
teachers. This is the first year that the celebration has
experienced such an auspicious beginning and the response
has been truly encouraging. In addition to these
celebrations, the feasts of St. Francis Xavier and St.
Ignatius Loyola are celebrated with great enthusiasm. On
31st July and 3rd December respectively, the C.L.C. conducts
Eucharistic Celebrations for the beloved patrons of our
school, which is attended by all Christian students and
families along with the members of the staff. The
Celebration is followed by refreshments for the
congregation. Students from all faiths are invited to be a
part of the feasts. The 'World C.L.C. Day' was celebrated in
the Primary School Campus on 25th April, 2009. We conducted
a quiz along with a Eucharistic Celebration for our
community.
In the year 2008, we organized a 3 day retreat for classes
11 & 12 respectively. Over 150 catholic students
participated in the retreat conducted at Dhyan Ashram.
Catholic students of classes 6 to 8 made a full day retreat
on the 23rd of October in the school itself. We also
conducted the Sacrament of Reconciliation for all the
catholic students of our school. In the same year, members
of the C.L.C. marched to the Metro Channel, Esplanade, to
protest against the atrocities committed against Christians
in Kandhamal, Orissa. We merged into the large gathering by
forming a human chain at the venue and cried for peace in
unison with them. Hymns were sung by the C.L.C. choir, while
the other members took part on a signature campaign. After
spending close to two hours, we returned to our school as
newly energized Christians, refreshed in our faith. We were
invited to join students from Loreto House in the 'Mass for
the Holy Child'. The C.L.C. choir joined other choirs in
singing hymns in the Eucharistic Celebration. Every year,
the C.L.C. members of our school join the 'Corpus Christi
Procession', which is annually held on the St.Xavier's
College Grounds. In the month of December, the choir also
takes part in Carol singing competitions hosted by various
institutions of the city. A Christmas Assembly is held every
year in order to fill the heart of every Xaverian with the
joy and warmth of Christmas.
'XAVO CHRISTI' in 2008, the annual C.L.C. fest, ignited once
again the hope of having our own fest. We were successful in
reaching out to the Christian communities in other schools.
'XAVO CHRISTI 2009' was held on 24th October, 2009, and was
participated by St. Mary's School, St.Anthony's School,
St.Teresa's School, Don Bosco Park Circus and Our Lady Queen
of the Missions School. The various events of the festival
were T-Shirt painting, Collage, Football, Music and Dance
Competition. St.Xavier's Collegiate School was declared
winners, Our Lady Queen of the Missions School was
runners-up; Don Bosco Park Circus and St. Mary's School were
joint second runners-up. The true success of 'XAVO CHRISTI'
lies in its attempt to uncover untapped talent in Christian
students.
The C.L.C. is a platform for all those Christians who feel
the need to voice their opinions and thoughts. The present
office bearers, Siddharth Rao (President), Johann Britto
(Vice-President) and Matthew Patridge (Treasurer) wish the
best to the upcoming batches of young Christians, to earn
and respect their heritage and integrity, value the
significance of this community and raise it to colossal
heights.
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