Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest, Imitator of Christ ~ 31 July 2014

St. Ignatius, pray for us!

"To endure many and grievous 

afflictions for the love of Christ. 

Ask this grace of our Lord; 

to whomever He grants it, 

He does many other signal favours 

that always attend this grace." 

~ St. Ignatius of Loyola ~ 

Ignatius Loyola (Iñigo Lopez de Loyola) a Spaniard was born on 24 December 1491 in in the Castle Loyola, in the Basque country of northeastern Spain. Ignatius spent his early adult years as a soldier, until he was seriously wounded in a battle with the French in 1521. Forced to confront himself during his lengthy recovery, he ended his military career and embraced the poverty of a pilgrim. During the time of his recovery, he experienced a conversion. Reading about the lives of Jesus and the saints made Ignatius happy and aroused desires to do great things. Ignatius realized that these feelings were clues to God’s direction for him. Ignatius was one of the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) who follow the poor and humble Jesus (Imitator of Christ), serving without power, on the fringes of society and the church. The fundamental philosophy of the mature Ignatius was that we ought to desire and choose only that which is more conducive to the end for which we are created - to praise, reverence, and serve God through serving other human beings. His spiritual insights also gave birth to Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius is known for the little saying, Ad Majorem Dei Gloria, for the greater glory of God. This was the call sign he used to determine whether he should give his life to something, a particular task or decision or not. Ignatius established his spiritual exercises and these exercises have been used by many of the faithful who wish to increase their ability to respond to Jesus and are highly recommended. Ignatius was one of the principal forces behind the transition from the medieval church to early modern Catholicism. Ignatius died on 31 July 1556. Saint Ignatius is the patron of Jesuit Order, Jesuits retreats, soldiers, and Spiritual Exercises (by Pope Pius XI).

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve;

to give, and not to count the cost,

to fight, and not to heed the wounds,

to toil, and not to seek for rest,

to labour, and not to ask for reward,

except that of knowing that we are doing your will.

~ St. Ignatius of Loyola ~ 

O God, who raised up Saint Ignatius of Loyola in your Church to further the greater glory of your name, grant that by his help we may imitate him in fighting the good fight on earth and merit to receive with him a crown in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Thursday, 31 July 2014
Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

Reading 1

Jeremiah 18:1-6
This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter’s house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter’s house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel 

Matthew 13:47-53
Jesus said to the disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old.”
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.