To be in the company of Jesus is inevitably to be in the company of Mary, for where Jesus is, there too is His Mother. To be a member of the family of God, you must be a child of Mary. No wonder St. Ignatius is a patron saint of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception!
By Chris Sparks
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) have formed a great many saints down through the centuries, turning loose missionaries of unprecedented power and ardor such as St. Francis Xavier. To console the Heart of Jesus, we must also partake of that same holy power, that same ardor coming straight from the depths of the Trinity.
Saint Ignatius, whose feast we celebrate on July 31, named his order the Society of Jesus, or the Company of Jesus. The men of the Jesuit order are meant to be soldiers for Christ, fighting the world, the flesh, and the devil under the standard of Christ, the Sign of the Cross.
Saint Ignatius uses the imagery of two armies, one led by Christ and the other by Lucifer, each with its own flag or standard. The Spiritual Exercises invite you join the battle and choose whom to follow, Good or Evil.
The choice is simple!
Child of Mary
To be in the company of Jesus is also inevitably to be in the company of Mary, for where Jesus is, there too is His Mother. To be a member of the family of God, you must be a child of Mary.
No wonder St. Ignatius is a patron saint of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception!
It was Mary who oversaw Ignatius's transformation of life. He stood vigil for a night at the foot of Our Lady of Montserrat, and left there his earthly weapons to take up the weapons of spiritual combat in the service of heaven's Queen. Mary is the patroness of the Jesuit order under the title Madonna Della Strada, or Our Lady of the Way - very appropriate for the mother of the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Let us ask St. Ignatius of Loyola to pray for us that we may always be faithful children of Mary and companions of Jesus!
