18th Sunday of the Year C

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

St Ignatius, whose Feastday was celebrated on Thursday last week, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and became its first Superior General, in Paris in 1541.  However he was someone made a long personal journey to that point in his life.   He was a man given over to vanities of the world; with great and vain desire to win fame. Extravagant about his dress and the quest for glory, he admits to self-gratifying pursuits, and he delighted especially in the exercise of arms as a soldier.
Yet following an injury on the battlefield, which would leave him with a limp for the rest of his life, and during his convalescence, he read a book on the life of Christ and another on the saints many times, resulting in a complete and total conversion. Ignatius used his military experience and leadership skills to establish the Society of Jesus, and he applied those lessons to the disciplines he developed for his order. For instance, his advice to “divide and conquer,” in our struggle against sin is derived from his background as a soldier and commander.
Julie Onderko in her book on “Saints who found God’s will” wrote  “All of our experiences can be placed in the service of the Lord: our mistakes, our careers, our relationships — everything. Our personal histories, no matter how sheltered or colourful, con­tribute to our formation. The very thing we think disqualifies us might be exactly what uniquely qualifies us for our mission. God doesn’t need our perfection, our planning, or our talents. Our Lord doesn’t need anything, but in His great humility, He requests our yes, our fiat, to His plans for us. The circumstances and experiences that lead to our yes are as indi­vidual as we are. Ignatius’s temperament, his personality traits, his experiences, his physical abilities and inabilities all, in some way, contributed to his God-given mission. It’s the same for us. Our life is our formation.”
When I led Commissioning Services for Officer Cadets in the Royal Memorial Chapel at Sandhurst, before they marched on to the Square for the formal parade, the prayer of St Ignatius was always prayed towards the end of the Service. It may be a prayer to have with us this week  And please also remember those who prayed it before they promised to “Serve to Lead” – the motto of the Royal Military Academy.
Lord, teach me to be generous,
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 look for any reward,
save that of knowing that I do your holy will.