From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   July 31st - St. Ignatius of Loyola   
      
   Today's saint was baptized "Inigo". He was the youngest of eleven children   
   born to Don Beltran; Lord of Loyola and Onaz, and his wife Marina Saenz de   
   Liconay Balda. It is believed that he was born in 1491 in the castle of   
   Loyola at Azpeitia, Guipuzcoa, Spain. He was trained to be a soldier, but   
   his career ended after a cannon ball severely broke his leg.   
      
   Inigo's recuperation was long, tedious and painful, requiring two surgeries   
   without the aid of anesthetics. It was during this time that he came to read   
   the life of Jesus and some of the saints as they were the only books   
   available to him. After many ups and downs his life turned away from his   
   passion for glory and marriage to a high-born lady, to serving God. He spent   
   about a year with the Dominicans at Manresa in a paupers house and in a   
   hermit cave. It was a great time of peace and serenity. But it wasn't to   
   last.   
      
   Inigo began to suffer terribly from scruples and fears. He tried fasting,   
   prayer, and discipline, even the sacraments provided him with no relief. At   
   times he felt on the brink of despair and it was during this time he began   
   to jot down what would become the beginnings of his Spiritual Exercises.   
      
   In 1523 he went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and would have stayed, but God   
   intervened through the Franciscan superior of the Friary he was staying at,   
   who ordered him to return home. He returned to Spain and spent several years   
   studying in Barcelona, Alcala, Salamanca and Paris. He lived an austere life   
   and at one time was arrested as a suspected heretic after giving spiritual   
   direction to some women even though he was a layman. Another time he was   
   again arrested after holding assemblies of prayer and devotions. He ran into   
   a lot of difficulty among scholars because he publicly taught how to live   
   the life of Christ, even though he didn't have the credentials they   
   demanded. Jealousy is as old as the beginning of time.   
      
   In 1534 Ignatius received his Master of Arts degree and with six other like   
   minded men joined together and vowed poverty, chastity and to preach the   
   Gospel in Palestine, or offer themselves to the Pope for what ever service   
   he might choose for them. This was the beginnings of the Society of Jesus.   
   In 1537 they were ordained to the priesthood. They were unable to reach the   
   Holy Land so went to Rome resolved to become a new religious order. In 1540   
   they received papal approval, took their final vows and in 1541, Ignatius   
   became the first Superior General.   
      
   They were sent out as a missionary order and soon had schools, colleges and   
   seminaries all over Europe. They gained the reputation for being excellent   
   teachers and ardent fighters against heresies. Ignatius died July 31, 1556   
   at about the age of 55. At the time of his death there were 1,000 members of   
   his order in nine countries. He was canonized in 1622 and Pope Pius XI   
   declared him heavenly patron of spiritual exercises and retreats.   
      
   There are volumes and volumes written about St. Ignatius: his history, the   
   history of the Jesuit Order, his Spiritual exercises, commentaries on these   
   exercises, etc. etc. Perhaps one can just say, when he opened his mind and   
   heart to God, he heard the message of Salvation and he followed Christ with   
   all the strength of his being.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "The body of Christ which is the Church, like the human body was first   
   young, but at the end of the world it will have an appearance of decline."   
   -St. Augustine (Doctor, 354-430)   
      
   Bible Quotes:   
   "Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with   
   infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we   
   esteemed him not"  (Isaias 53:3 )   
      
   "The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath cursed his sanctuary: he hath   
   delivered the walls of the towers thereof into the hand of the enemy: ...   
   The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Sion: ... and   
   hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: and the bulwark ... and the   
   wall hath been destroyed together. Her gates are sunk into the ground: he   
   hath destroyed, and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the   
   Gentiles: the law is no more, and her prophets have found no vision from the   
   Lord"   (Lamentations 2:7-9 )   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Song of the Pelagian Heresy   
   By Hillaire Belloc   
      
   Pelagius lived at Kardanoel   
   And taught a doctrine there,   
   How, whether you went to Heaven or Hell   
   It was your own affair.   
   It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,   
   But was your own concern.   
   Oh, he didn't believe   
   In Adam and Eve   
   He put no faith therein!   
   His doubts began   
   With the Fall of Man   
   And he laughed at Original Sin.   
   With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,   
   He laughed at original sin!   
      
   Whereat the Bishop of old Auxerre   
   (Germanus was his name),   
   He tore great handfuls out of his hair,   
   And he called Pelagius Shame:   
   And then with his stout Episcopal staff   
   So thoroughly thwhacked and banged   
   The heretics all, both short and tall,   
   They rather had been hanged.   
   Oh, he thwhacked them hard, and he banged them long,   
   Upon each and all occasions,   
   Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong   
   Their orthodox persuasions!   
   With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,   
   Their orthodox persu-a-a-sions!   
      
   Now the Faith is old and the Devil is bold,   
   Exceedingly bold indeed;   
   And the masses of doubt that are floating about   
   Would smother a mortal creed.   
   But we that sit in a sturdy youth   
   And still can drink strong ale   
   Oh-let us put it away to infallible truth   
   That always shall prevail.   
   And thank the Lord   
   For the temporal sword   
   And howling heretics too;   
   And whatever good things   
   Our Christendom brings,   
   But especially barley brew!   
   With my row-ti-tow, Ti-oodly-ow,   
   Especially barley brew!   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)