Ignatius of Loyola: Passion for Jesus

Background Check:
The Roman Catholic church was coming out of centuries of laziness and power-driven control when Martin Luther and the Reformation took them by surprise. They had never thought that a group might come from within their own ranks to take away their power and wealth—but that is exactly what happened. Most Catholics felt that they should just destroy the reformers, take back the land and the wealth that was taken from the church and then things can go on the way they were. So many Catholics tried to do just that. Wars were fought and lost. Persecution against “heretics” were enacted. Thousands were killed, thousands were tortured—all to no avail. The Protestants and other reformers were here to stay, and there was nothing the Catholics could do about it.

Some Catholics, though, realized that the problems that were happening with the church did not primarily come from the Protestants, but from the Catholics own lack of devotion to God. If they would only focus again on the way of Jesus and learn again what it means to be a holy, devoted church, then perhaps God would again show favor on them.

His Story:
In 1521, a young Catholic soldier named Ignatius Loyola was wounded in a battle in Spain. This caused him to be forced to lay in bed for many months. He hoped that there were novels to read, but there was only a book about the life of Jesus and of the lives of the saints. “Saints” in the Catholic church means those great men and women who did acts of heroism for Jesus and are so honored by the church. After months of reading about suffering, confronting enemies with love, taking on poverty, homelessness and rejection with joy, Ignatius knew what he wanted to do—he wanted to be a saint.

After he was well enough to get out of his bed, he took his life of Christ and retired to a monastery near a cave. In that cave, Ignatius prayed and meditated on the life of Jesus. He realized that everything that one needed to have a godly life was right there in the life of Jesus. Jesus was fully devoted to God, he renounced wealth, he spoke against status, he lived and taught love. Everything that the saints ever did, all the good that was ever done, it was all right here in the life of Jesus. Jesus is to be the center of our existence. Ignatius wrote out the meditations he had been having on living out the life of Jesus in his own life. Later, it was published and called The Spiritual Exercises. That book was used and still is used by millions around the world to help one focus on living the way of Jesus.

After a number of years of meditation, Ignatius decided what he would do with the rest of his life. It is not enough, he thought, to fight petty battles in Spain about small matters. Nor is it enough to think about living the life of Jesus in a cave. Rather, he determined, he would be a soldier for Christ in the world. He would not fight with swords and spears—he would fight with poverty, prayer and education.

But first, he had to be educated. He could read Spanish, but his Latin was poor and his knowledge was limited as a soldier. Having some wealth, he enrolled into one of the best schools in Europe—the University of Paris. He lived in Paris for years, studying Latin, theology, philosophy and anything else that would cause him to be fit for his work. But even in Paris, he had to live according to the way of Christ. He slept outside, begged for his food, and studied the life of Christ at night. The next morning, he would show up to his studies looking like a poor man and a fool. All that would be well, if he did not also preach in the courtyard, telling people to focus on Christ, not on wealth or status. Most of the students and teachers there thought he was crazy. But a couple students thought that what he was saying and the life he was living made sense.
Ignatius took his few followers and began a group called the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. They would do all they could to convert those who did not know Jesus and to re-train Catholics and Protestants to be devoted to God and to live the life of Jesus.

WWJD
Jesus wasn’t necessarily excited about formal education. It was sufficient for him to have a working knowledge of God’s word and to depend on His Father. But Jesus granted to people the greatest gifts if they were just excited about Him. To a blind man who couldn’t stop praising his name, Jesus gave his sight. To a woman who had to touch Jesus, he healed from illness. Ignatius was someone who was excited about Jesus, and he couldn’t hide it. He looked like a fool and an idiot just for doing what he thought Jesus wanted him to do. Ignatius was Jesus’ favorite kind of follower—one who didn’t care how he looked.

The Final Word (of Men)
Over time the Jesuits grew and their influence over the Catholic church also grew. Soon, people who were more interested in the politics of evangelism than the life that comes from evangelism became in charge of the Jesuits. The Jesuits became so well known for corrupt politics and torturing people who refused to be converts that they were eventually disbanded by the Catholic church. In the 1800s, the Jesuits were established again by those who wanted to see Ignatius’ vision renewed, and the Jesuits continue to this day.

A Word From Our Sponsor:
As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:58-62

Helpful Hint: Jesus is the guide to life
It wasn’t enough for these faithful to just learn the teaching of Jesus. They didn’t just want to memorize it and be content with their knowledge. They insisted that they needed to live it out. Live it out radically! Peter Waldo and Francis and Ignatius gave up all they had in order to live out the teaching of Jesus. Michael Sattler and Menno Simons gave up his housing and all he was comfortable with in order to better live out the teaching of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus was not just a textbook to them, it was a guide, a mentor. It was as if Jesus himself were standing before them, saying, “Here, go this way, do this.” And whatever Jesus said, that’s what they did. No matter how stupid it looked to the people around them.

Check It Out:
The Spiritual Exercises by Ignatius of Loyola