In honor of all those who have served our country in the armed forces, on this particular day I like to post about a Saint with whom Veterans can, perhaps, identify. Some people may think I'm stretching a little to make that connection . . . but here goes.
St. Ignatius of Loyola (b. 1491) was actually baptized Inigo after St. Enecus, a medieval Basque name which is thought to mean "my little one." It is not clear when he started using the Latin name Ignatius instead of his given name - perhaps he thought that it was a variant of the same name and would be better understood in France and Italy.
As a young man, Inigo had a fascination with military exercises, stories of knights and battle and a great desire for fame. He joined the military at seventeen. He was known as a fancy dresser and womanizer. At eighteen, he took up arms for the Duke of Najera and participated in many battles without injury. But at the Battle of Pamplona in 1521 he was gravely injured. A cannonball hit him in the legs, wounding the right leg and breaking the left in several places. He underwent several operations (without the aid of anesthetics, which were unknown at that time) which left one leg shorter than the other - his military career was over.
During his recovery, Ignatius requested reading material, but the only books available were of a religious nature. While reading the life of Christ and the Saints, he underwent a spiritual conversion. The life of St. Francis, who had also been a soldier, particularly inspired him and he desired to imitate this great Saint. To this end, he gave up his fine clothes and hung his sword and dagger at the Virgin's altar during an overnight vigil at a shrine.
St. Ignatius is known for his 'Spiritual Exercises' and for the founding of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) with Saint Peter Faber and Saint Francis Xavier. He died of malaria in 1556 in Rome. His Feast Day is July 31.
No comments:
Post a Comment