His leg was set but didn’t heal, so it was broken again and
reset, all without anesthesia. Ignatius grew worse and was told by the doctors
that he should prepare for death. On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29), he took an unexpected turn for the better. The leg healed.
During the long weeks of recuperation, he was extremely
bored and asked for some romance novels to pass the time. There were none in
the castle of Loyola, but there was a copy of the life of Christ and a book on
the saints. Desperate, Ignatius began to read them. The more he read, the more
he considered the exploits of the saints worth imitating. At the same time he
continued to have daydreams of fame and glory, along with fantasies of winning
the love of a noble lady of the court. He noticed, however, that after
reading and thinking of the saints and Christ he was at peace and satisfied.
Yet when he finished his long daydreams of his noble lady, he would feel
restless and unsatisfied. Not only was this experience the beginning of his
conversion, it was also the beginning of spiritual discernment, or discernment
of spirits, which is associated with Ignatius and described in his Spiritual
Exercises.
He went not only went on to become a priest, but he is the
founder of the Jesuits. Today is his Feast Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment
While anyone can comment, a screening process is in place to prevent comments such as spams or obscenities. The best way to make certain your comment gets posted is to include your name.