We are Given All That is Needed

Any adolescent's first hearing of the story of Ignatius of Loyola is left feeling with the thought of "I think I'm OK." Ignatius's early years are definitely not the model we would want our middle schoolers to emulate. (Ignatius Biography). He was born into nobility but being the last of thirteen children left limited opportunities. Iñigo brought all of his personality traits to bear on his desire for success. He was driven to be the best and that may have meant finding a female companion (some have called him a womanizer) or leading his fellow soldiers onto the battlefield of a skirmish that no one but him thought was winnable. Ignatius is well-known for his "cannon ball moment." As the story goes it was his desire to go into battle against the French in Pamplona, Spain and things did now go well as many had previously predicted. It was an especially bad day for Ignatius as he was carried off the battlefield with one leg broken and the other severely wounded. The leg was set; perhaps improperly, and healed leaving a bump on his leg. Being extremely vain and whose nobility uniform included tights, this was unacceptable and Ignatius demanded that the leg be broken again, the bump shaved off, and reset. So his recovery was quite long and extensive. Personality traits of young Iñigo from this vignette alone would include determined, proud, vain, glory seeking, and willing to win at all costs. But as we all know, Ignatius's cannon ball moment led to a personal conversion and he was able to take all of these traits and remold them in his desire to serve Jesus.

As Christians, we believe that God-given strengths and traits with which we are born are put in place to serve God. However, as humans, we often have what we think is a better idea of ways we can serve ourselves and God simultaneously with those traits. When born into nobility, it is only natural that Ignatius would have utilized his gifts toward glorifying his rise through the noble ranks. He had a strong belief in himself and that he could be the best at whatever he attempted. There is certainly no ill in being the best but through his conversion, Ignatius was able to see ways to mold those traits away from being self-serving and instead to glorify God. So when we look back at the somewhat selfish traits, Iñigo demonstrated in his youth, we can see how they could also be utilized in service to God. He was born with everything he needed to follow the path from Loyola to Rome. He believed in himself and that even if he went into battle alone, he would be victorious. After completely the writing of the Spiritual Exercises in Manresa, he walked alone to Barcelona and sailed on to the Holy Land and back to Paris to complete his studies. He was charismatic, and easily convinced others to join him in the mission of initiating the Companions of Jesus and beginning the order of the Jesuits. His dedication and devotion shifted from royalty to Jesus and his blessed mother, Mary. It bears noting that the power and personal dedication of this one man is still at work in our world today. Ignatius started an order dedicated to education and there are currently 28 Ignatian colleges and universities in the United States today. HIs mission, the spiritual design and purpose of one man, is still growing.

So when we take time to discern the direction of our life and question the decisions we have made, I hope that we can take a moment to dig deeper and consider the personality traits that have been at work. If we, like young Iñigo, have used our gifts for personal gain in place of giving glory to the gifts themselves, take a moment (hopefully not a cannonball moment) and consider how we and God might be able to work together for the greater good. How might we take the trait of being the best at something and realign it so it serves others? We, too have been given all that we need.