Weekend Reflections for 11/20/15
Window of St. Ignatius' room in Loyola, Spain. This is what he saw during his long recovery from the cannonball wound.
St Ignatius was fighting for the King of Spain when he was hit by a cannonball. The French soldiers admired his courage, so they helped him onto a stretcher. His companions carried him back to his family’s castle so that he could die at home.
As he lay in bed, Ignatius asked for a few books to keep his mind occupied. He hoped for adventure books about knights and dragons and damsels in distress. All they had was a book about the lives of the saints and another with meditations on the life of Christ.
Slowly, powerfully, Ignatius questioned his loyalties. Why serve the King of Spain when he could be serving the King of Kings? Why battle against the French when he should be fighting for the salvation of souls?
Ignatius offers us the Call of the King meditation in the Spiritual Exercises. There, he describes Christ calling all people to join Him under the banner of His Cross. “Whoever desires should come with Me and labor with Me, that following Me in the pain he may also follow Me into glory.”
This Sunday is the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus is Our Lord and Savior. He has given us everything-- even pouring out His Life for us. There is no higher king. There is no higher cause than His Kingdom. We fight for His Kingdom not with gunpowder and cannons but with prayer and labor and sacrifice. Spain might win one battle but lose the next. But the saints fight for a Kingdom that will never end. Jesus does not want to defeat His enemies, but beacons them to join Him—and to live with Him in Heaven forever.
The call of Christ captured the heart of Ignatius. The King’s call still stirs the hearts of those who have the courage to follow Him. “Whoever desires should come with Me…into glory.”
AMDG, Fr Joe Laramie SJ
Loyola Basilica at night.
Loyola Basilica dome.