St. Iggy, the Canon Ball Saint

The Cannon ball Saint
or How a Skirt-Chasing, Dice-Throwing and Vain Spanish Courtier Who Walked with a Limp Finally Got a Halo
Feast day: July 31

St. Ignatius of Loyola had the rare distinction in the whole Christendom of being the only saint who was "cannonized" first before he was beatified. The story went that when the Spanish army stationed at a fortress in Pamplona, outnumbered by the French, was ready to retreat and accept a humiliating defeat, this swaggering son of a noble family convinced his captain to fight the invaders to death. As Lady Luck (or was it Madame Misfortune?) had had enough of Spanish bravado, she caused a careening cannon ball to crash and crush Iggy's leg.
The poor fellow was knocked out of his senses and he suddenly found himself upon waking up being treated like a lady by French soldiers who carried him home in a hammock instead of imprisoning him or torturing him with bad French jokes.

After a crude and we must say unhygienic "operation" on his leg so he could resume his groovy dance steps in court soirees, Iggy boy was bedbound and he recuperated in his brother's house. He couldn't go out for a drinking and gambling session. He couldn't wear his armor breastplate to engage his friends into a real Ragnarok match. And since this was a time when sending SMS texts and Friendster were not yet in vogue, the dashing and dashed soldier quickly got bored. He asked for copies of earlier versions of The Lord of the Rings and Mills and Boons novels but his sister-in-law kept none of these at home. Instead she handed him two boring books: The Life of Christ and Lives of Saints. He grumbly grabbed the books and started reading. He became feverish with excitement and started dreaming of going to faraway places and imitating the saints and following Christ. And then his desire of pursuing a royal relationship with a hitherto nameless lass and of playing knight to damsels-in-distress left him dry.

Meanwhile, since his leg was restored but did not heal, he requested that it be recast. The doctors told him that he could die in the process but he was determined to have it done. He underwent second operation, even without anesthesia, because he did not want to walk with a limp. Vanity of vanities says Qoheleth! It seemed however, that Sts. Peter and Paul, whose twin anniversary celebration coincided with the day of his operation (June 29), wanted him to join Jesus' army, Iggy's health turned for the better and he was able to walk, albeit, still with a little limp. From then on he bowed to live a life of poverty and purity, become a monk and a missionary to Jerusalem. And the rest is, you know, history...

Ignatius became the founder and the first superior general of the largest male-only congregation in the world. But that is getting ahead already. He suffered many hardships, sufferings and persecution. He even at one point became suicidal. But there was really no stopping this Basque from pursuing what he put his whole heart and mind into: conquer the world and save souls for the Greater Glory of God!

Article courtesy of We Sinners and Saints Blog.
Thanks to Sch. Joel Liwanag, SJ for the pictures.

Journal # 3: Tubig ng Buhay

Nakalilinis, nakatatangal ng uhaw, nakapagpapanibago…yan ang dulot ng Sakramento ng Binyag. Dahil sa sakramentong ito, tayo ay nagiging kabahagi ng sambayanan ng Diyos at nagiging tagapagmana ng Kanyang kaharian. Nakikiisa tayo sa halimbawa ni Kristo, nang Siya mismo ay bininyagan sa pamamagitan ni San Juan Bautista.

Sa karanasan natin bilang mga Pilipino, ang binyag ay karaniwang isang malaking selebrasyon at pagtitipon. Nariyan na ang pagkakaroon ng magarbong handaan, may pakimkim sa Ninong at Ninang, at gaya nga ng sinabi ni Ginoong Gabe Mercado sa dokumentrayong ating pinanoood ay, may pa-proxy-proxy pa!

Ngunit,higit pa sa magarbong handaan, ang Sakramento ng Binyag ay sadya ngang napakahalaga sa buhay nating mga Kristiyano. Sa pamamagitan ng sakramentong ito, tayo ay nanunumbalik sa piling ng Diyos, at muling nakikiisa sa Kanya.

Nakakalinis….
Sapagkat, sa pamamagitan nito, ay nalilinis ang bahid sa atin ng “Original Sin”, na siyang dahilan ng ating pagkakawalay sa Diyos, noong sinauna pa man sa pamamagitan ni Eba at Adan.

Nakakatangal ng Uhaw…
Sa pamamagaitan ng sakramentong ito, napupunan ang ating pagkauhaw sa Diyos na siyang lumikha sa atin, sapagkat gaya ng sabi ni Kristo, siya ang "Tubig ng Buhay".

Nakakapanibago...
Sa pamamagitan ng sakramentong ito, tayo ay napapanibago, isinisilang muli o born again. Sa pagmamahal ng Diyos at sa pamamagitan ng Kanyang grasya, tayo ay inihahango niya sa pagkalugmok dulot ng kasalanan sa pamamagitan ng sakramento ng Binyag.

Ngunit, hindi natatapos sa selebrasyon, handaan at ritwal ang ating pagkaka-binyag. Bilang binyagan, tayo ay may pananagutan. Kailangan nating “Magpakatotoo” o “Magpatotoo”, na tayo ay nga ay mga binyagan, sapagkat bilang mga Kristiyano, ito ay may kaakibat na pananagutan. Ito ay ang pagsasabuhay at pagsunod kay Kristo, pagkakaroo ng masiglang buhay panalangin, di lang sa sarili kundi para sa iba at panghuli ay ang pananagutan na maglingkod sa kapwa tao lalo na sa mga mahihirap.

Gabay sa Pagninilay:

• Balikan ang mga natutunan at bagong kaalaman ukol sa Sakramento ng Binyag. Ano sa mga bagong kaalaman na ito ang pinaka-tumatak sa iyo? Bakit?
• Kumusta ang iyong pagpapakatotoo bilang isang bininyagan? Sa puntong ito ng iyong buhay, masasabi mo bang ‘nagpapakatotoo’ ka bilang isang Binyagan? Kumusta ang iyong pagsasabuhay kay Kristo? Ang iyong buhay panalangin? Ang pagtulong sa iyong kapwa?
• Marahil, madalas hindi natin nabibigyang halaga ang ating pagkakabinyag. Nagyong, natalakay na natin ang kahalagahan nito, maaring sumulat ka ng isang panalangin ng pasasalamat sa Diyos sa grasyang ito sa iyo.
• Makakatulong sa iyo kung isusulat mo ang iyong panalangin sa iyong prayer journal Maaring itala mo lahat dito ang iyong naramdaman at ang imahe ng Diyos na iyong nakita matapos ang iyong pagdarasal.

Reference: Ang Tubig ng Buhay, Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc. 2008

Journal # 2: The Parable of the Elder Brother

YOU are the younger brother.
JESUS, is your elder brother who gave up his life and left a trail of light for us so that we may find our way back home.

Even now, your father is waiting for you.

Thanks to Jesus, our Elder Brother, wherever we find ourselves in this world, there will always be light because Jesus, our Elder Brother, has been there.

Thanks to Him, our Elder Brother, God's first born, no place is so far or so dark that it falls beyond the love of God. Its time to go home. [1]

Points of Reflection:

• Go back to the story of the Parable of the Elder Brother. What struck you most in the story? What did you feel after hearing the story?
• Now, look into your own life, how is your relationship with your Elder Brother, Jesus? Had there been times when you somehow felt you are in the shoes of the younger brother? Bring this into prayer.
• How about your family? How's your relationship to your parents? To your siblings being an elder or younger brother/sister? The Elder Brother gave a perfect example how we must relate and show our love to our families. Are you willing enough to follow his example? If not what prevents you? Perhaps you may want to spend some time reflecting over these points in personal prayer.
• It is helpful to keep track of our prayer experiences by keeping a prayer journal. Note down all your feelings, significant movements, and the image of God you met after the prayer period.

"Wherever I go, I will leave a lighted candle. So even if I don't find him, he will know I've been there. Should he get lost, he will find a trail of light that can lead him back home."

- Elder Brother

____________________________

[1] Go, Johnny C., SJ, The Parable of the Elder Brother, Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc., 2006.

Good News Naman Please!

6 July 2008 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Zechariah 9, 9-10; Psalm 145; Romans 8, 9-13; Matthew 11, 2-30

25 At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

It’s been scary to read the newspaper lately. For how many days, it was all bad news. The recent typhoon Frank left the country devastated, killing hundreds of people and hundreds more homeless. World oil price soars to $145 a barrel last Thursday, the highest in history and gone up to more than 50% than its price last year. Last month, our inflation [1] rate hit 11.4%, the highest in 14 years. From one bad news to another (well, at least thanks to Pacquiao, who somehow made us forget the bad news for a little while) you may wonder, how long this will this last. Will it ever go to an end?

In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus’ consoling words …“Come to me all, who are burdened and I will give you rest”. Jesus knows how burdened people we are, because He shared our humanity and even embraced our poverty. During His time, His people were also burdened with poverty, heavy taxes to pay to the Romans and to the Jewish temples and violence is also everywhere. And so we believe that He understands how troubled we are, more than anyone else. Jesus’ clearly invites us today, to come to Him and rest in Him especially during these tough times. He invites us to trust Him even more by offering our difficulties, our sadness, pains and struggle so He can give us comfort and rest. And that I think is the good news, amidst all the bad things happening around us. That God, who is much bigger good news than all the bad news combined, is out there, sympathizing with us and will never leave us no matter what. We just have to keep the faith and pray even more.

And so let us continue to pray for one another, for our country and especially for our poor brothers and sisters who suffers most during this time.

---

[1]Inflation measures how fast overall prices are rising over a specific period, usually a year. The higher the inflation, the faster the prices are rising, Inquirer Research, PDI, Sat. July 5, 2008

Journal # 1: Dreamers Unite!

Jeremiah 29:11-14

For I know what my plans for you are, plans to save you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and to give you hope. And Yahweh says, “When you call on me I will listen. You will seek me and find me when you search for me and find me with all your heart.” For Yahweh says, “I will let myself gather you from among all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you and bring you back to the place of exile.”

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises said that God has a dream, a vision for us, for our world. He wants us to join Him in this project, in this wonderful undertaking[1]. God made us dreamers, and because of this we are intrinsically attracted toward our dreams…to do something good in this lifetime and to live a meaningful life in this world. We may not be aware of it, but God wants us to have our dreams fulfilled and so we are gifted with talents and faculties to make them a reality. What we can say about this dream, is that He wanted us to be united with Him forever in His Kingdom. Sadly, most of us turn away from this dream because of our own choices. We choose not to follow God’s dreams for us when we embrace sin than to be reconciled and nourish our faith with Him. But the Good News is, God has a far greater love than our hearts; a love beyond our understanding of loving. He is hopelessly and helplessly in love with us (you may call it the-crazy-and-desperately-in-love kind of thing), that He constantly reaches out to be reconciled to us, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Points of Reflection

• Reflect over Jeremiah 29:11-14. Spend a few moments of quiet with God.
• What struck you most while reading the passage? How do you feel about it? What does God want to tell you personally?
• You may also want to reflect over your dreams, hopes and plans in your life. Tell and offer them to Him.
• It is helpful to keep track of our prayer experiences by keeping a prayer journal. Note down all your feelings, significant movements, and the image of God you met after the prayer period.

[1] Alfonso, Manuel S.J, The Windhover, June 2008, pp.28. Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc.