St Ignatius and the Passion of the World in the 21st Century

St Ignatius and the Passion of the World in the 21st Century
“Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds, hide me. Separated from you, let me never be. From the evil one, protect me. At the hour of my death, call me; bid me come to you. That with your angels and saints, I may praise you forever and ever. Amen”
St Ignatius Loyola: “The Anima Christi”
My dear friend and former provincial of the Missouri Province, Fr Dave Fleming, SJ, was holding a conference in St Louis concerning Ignatius and the Passion of Christ in the 21st. Century. He commissioned this icon around 2008, (?) for the conference.
I had to think about how to portray Ignatius and Christ. The Anima Christi has always been a favorite prayer of mine, and thousands of people.
I didn’t know at the time what was coming for our world, but I saw in my imagination, Ignatius holding up the world to Christ on the Cross, and 3 drops of blood from his right hand are about to fall into the world; “inebriate us, save us, sanctify us, wash us, strengthen us ... and your world.” As I look into this icon now, this is still my prayer today, for our world on fire.
In her “Revelations of Divine Love”, Lady Julian of Norwich was told by Jesus on the Cross, that the world was as little as a hazelnut, and that God would always protect her, Mother Earth, out of love. “...it lasts and ever shall, for God loves it... in this little thing, I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second is that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it.”
St Padre Pio kept telling us over and over, in his lifetime, “I repeat that the temptations of jealousy, desperation, discouragement, distrust, etc. are works of the devil.”
Ignatian discernment is all about identifying which spirit is speaking in your head? The Buddha refers to this scramble as “monkey mind” or the “Yama, Yama.” Just today (and truthfully, quite often lately) my spirit was beginning to plunge, and I immediately felt the good spirit whispering, “Just look up!” Huge cirrrus and cumulus clouds were gathering over the Sandia mountains against the brilliant New Mexican turquoise sky. My spirit gasped at the sudden beauty. I thought of the quote of Dostoevsky that Dorothy Day loved, she, who saw daily, the harshness and injustice of the world; “Beauty will save the world.” How do we nurture this pilot light within; this flame of hope and love?
Ignatius counseled his companions to be Sure and have spiritual conversations, (meaning something about God) or to read something spiritual, like Holy Scriptures, the life of a saint, music that lifts your spirit - be it Stevie Wonder, “Rain Your Love Down,” Bach’s B-Minor Mass, “Wash Me Clean” by k.d. lang, or Joni Mitchell’s rendition of 1 Corinthians 13, “Love” ... or simply, humbly, pray the powerful Rosary. All these simple attempts are actually forms of prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit (“we do not know what to pray for ...” Romans 8: 26-27) and cause that pilot light within to become enflamed.
“Pray, even if you feel nothing, see nothing. For when you are dry, empty, sick or weak, at such times is your prayer Most pleasing to God, even though you may find little joy in it. This is true of all believing prayer.”
Lady Julian
“Never give up prayer, and should you find dryness and difficultly, persevere in it for this is the very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and Love is not tried by ease and satisfaction...the endurance of darkness is the preparation for Great Light.”
St John of the Cross
“Behold, a sacred voice is calling you. All over the sky a sacred voice is calling.”
The Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk
“Act as if everything depended on you. Trust as if everything depended on God.”
St Ignatius Loyola
Happy Feastday of Holy Father St Ignatius!
Fr William Hart McNichols 💮 31 July 2022
(And, Happy Birthday Calvin Rupoli my dear niece’s brilliant son!)