Today is the feast day of first importance to all Jesuits, and, by extension by all who have been blessed to be evangelized or educated by them. Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491 - 1556 AD), Spanish (actually Basque) prince, writer and founder. And importantly, he has a three-fold method for determining what is really God's will for us. Of course, God wouldn't choose evil for us, so if the choice is between a moral good and a sinful thing, the choice is easy. No, God doesn't want you to -- and is not calling you to -- rob a bank or cheat on your wife or tell a lie or embezzle from the company. But what if the choice is between (or among) two (or more) GOOD things? Well, we should approach God humbly in prayer and if we receive a clear, distinct command from God, well, then we should obey it. But those type of things are relatively rare, so the Ignatian method of discernment is helpful. Here are the three things we can use:
1) Intellect;
2) Feelings; and,
3) Imagination.
How? Well, the intellect requires we look at each choice rationally, weighing each's advantages and disadvantages to see which one makes the most sense logically. Feelings show us, over and over again, as we think about a possibility, whether it leaves us with a sense of peace and a deep desire (which may indicate we should choose it) or a sense of dread and unhappiness (which may mean we should not). And St. Ignatius was a pioneer in the use of the imagination, both in prayer, in which we take a Biblical scene on which we want to meditate and picture ourselves actually present there as one of the characters, or as here, in discernment of spirits, in which we turn the tables and imagine what we ourselves would advise someone else who came to US with the very same question. Additionally, we should imagine ourselves on our deathbed, looking back on this particular decision: How would we feel about it THEN? (A method which is reflected in the old adage: "On their deathbed, no one regrets not having spent more time at the office"!)
The details of the life of the illustrious founder (he would say "co-founder," but he it was who was the inspiration and primary actor) of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus -- or Company of Jesus, as they were known before incorporation and as they are still known in France, Spain and Italy) are well known: of a noble house in the Basque country of Spain, this knight and military leader was severely wounded in both legs (the right one much more severely than the left) while in action of the French front, and during recovery from the painful re-setting of the bone, he read the life of the Christ and the lives of the saints. This noble and great-hearted man looked at those lives of the saints and came to the realization that if they could do it, he could too. That was the start of the remarkable journey. Much has been made of the military nature and model of the Jesuits, but I think it's probably been overstated. How many military generals would go back to elementary school and learn grammar and other lessons from the ground up, with boys half their age? How many would wear a simple habit and decide to either a) evangelize the Holy Land; or, b) put themselves entirely at the disposal of the pope, going immediately and unquestioningly wherever he would send them? Bad politics between Venice and Turkey prevented them from setting sail for Palestine, to their loss, perhaps, but to the whole world's gain. The responded by going wherever they were sent, including Morocco, the Congo, Ethiopia, Portuguese settlements in South America and even as far as India and Japan. Ignatius himself remained for the remainder of his life in Rome, and though he is known for his beautiful prayer "Receive Lord, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. You have given me all that I have, all that I am, and I surrender all to your divine will. Give me only your love and your grace. With this I am rich enough and I have no more to ask." but his last words were for the pope: "Tell him that my hour has come, and that I ask his benediction. Tell him that if I go to a place where my prayers are of any avail, as I trust, I shall not fail to pray for him, as I have indeed unfailingly, even when I had most occasion to pray for myself." Amen.
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