Jul-31 Feast of St Ignatius Loyola
July 31: Feast of St Ignatius Loyola Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola, or St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered his leg. Because there were no books of chivalry and romance to read during his convalescence, he read the only ones available on the lives of Christ, St Francis of Assisi and St Dominic. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long, painful turning to Christ began, making him give up his earthly ways. He traveled through the town of Montserrat, Spain where he gave away his fine clothes to a poor man. Then, in an all-night vigil before the Black Madonna in the local church of the Benedictine abbey, he hung up his sword and dagger. Effectively, his old life was over and his new life as a pilgrim had begun. Enroute to Barcelona he spent ten months serving the poor in a hospital beyond the walls of a town called Manresa. There he prayed deeply on what it truly meant to live a life as...