Fr. Karel San Juan, SJ
Ignatius High School July 2010
Today, as we celebrate the feast of our founder, our patron saint, the father of Jesuits and thus the father of all Ateneans, St. Ignatius of Loyola, let us focus on three things that I think defined who he was, and that could define who he can be for us today. Three things: the sword of Ignatius, the star of Ignatius, and the seal of Ignatius.
First the sword of St. Ignatius. One of the most popular images of Ignatius, as we know, is his offering of his sword to the Virgin of Montserrat. The sword meant a lot to him. It defined who he was: a soldier missioned to protect his king, a soldier who will fight battles for the Crown, a soldier who will give his life for the Spanish kingdom of his time. The sword represented the life he has been living as a young man, filled with vanity and ambition, consumed with pride and personal glory, prestige and power. Yet as we know from the story of Ignatius, after his conversion in Loyola he decided to leave this life behind and follow God wherever God may be calling him. This meant saying goodbye to his being a soldier. It meant giving away his expensive clothes, and in its place, wearing a poor man’s robe. It meant surrendering his sword, during a whole night vigil or prayer, kneeling in front of the Black Madonna in the Chapel of Montserrat in
When we see the sword of Ignatius, when we think about it, perhaps we can also think about our own swords, the swords of our own personal lives. What are the things that we have that define who we are, our passions, things that we can, yes, give up, offer to God, in place for something greater, something better, something more. Could our swords be our material things, the stuff that we tend to accumulate and are in excess of, like perhaps cellphones and computers, games and gadgets, clothes and clutter. Such that if we let go of them, we simplify our lives, and when we simplify our lives, we become closer to God. Or perhaps, could our swords be those that are great about our selves, like talents and gifts, like things we are good at, academics, sports, music, making friends, being good leaders, and being good followers too, and how about our precious time and energy – things valuable to us, which we can offer to God, so that God can use them toward something greater. Something greater like using our talents and gifts for others, for service of the poor. Remember that God still used the soldier in Ignatius, and called him to fight not anymore for the human king, but for Christ the King, for God’s kingdom, over the forces of evil in the world. In your lives, dear students, what do you think is your sword? What is your passion? What can you offer to God? What can you sacrifice to God so He can transform it, use it, for something greater, something for the betterment of others, for the betterment of the world. What is the sword that you can offer and surrender?
Second, the star of Ignatius. Ignatius was a busy man. His typical day was devoted to so many things: listening and talking to people, helping the poor and the hungry, raising funds, getting the support of the rich and powerful men and women, writing letters to the first Jesuits, to Popes, bishops, kings, and queens. He must have been very tired at the end of each day. At nighttime, Ignatius would stop, go out to the veranda of his room, and look up to the heavens, and gaze at the stars. Ignatius was a star-gazer. Star-gazing kept him quiet. It kept quiet his mind, his heart, his soul, after a tiring, noisy and busy day. More than this, star-gazing gave Ignatius some insight and perspective. It made him see that he is part of something infinitely bigger and greater. When he gazes at the stars, the infinite horizon, he realizes how small we are in the vast expanse of the universe. And this renders him silent. He is awed. He is humbled. It made him see that there is a greater power to all the things of the world. It made him see God, the greater power, loving and caring for us, small creatures of this planet. It made him feel grateful that he is still alive, kept alive and happy by God.
When we see the star of Ignatius, when we think of it, can we also think of our own stars. What are the things in our lives that keep us quiet, reflective, silent, prayerful? Perhaps, our teachers, the Jesuits, the required prayer periods, the required masses like this one? I hope not only these. I hope other things like a time we set aside for ourselves, not being forced to do so, alone, silent, perhaps in our rooms, or in any quiet places, nothing and no one to disturb us, where we can reflect, where we can pray. Jesuits call this contemplation. It focuses our mind, our heart, our soul. It connects us to our God, and like Ignatius, it gives us light, perspective, happiness, in the middle of our very busy schedules, in the middle of the so many things we do in our lives.
Can our friends be our stars? Like the friends in Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies. Remember Toy Story? How Andy realized toward the end of the movie that his old toys, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jesse, Rex, Slinky Dog, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, are really his friends, friends who have taught him the value of love, loyalty, even sacrifice. In the same way, our dear parents, our family, our teachers, our classmates, our administrators – they can be our stars, giving us light amid darkness and confusion, joy amid our sadness, helping us pray. They are stars who make us choose life, as we have heard in the second reading a while ago. Do we feel grateful for these stars in our lives? Have we thanked them in one way or the other?
And now, the third, the seal of St. Ignatius. In the time of Ignatius, seals were very important. All noble families, like Ignatius’ own, the Loyolas, have their own emblems or seals. The Loyolas have the famous seal of two wolves feeding on a pot of food, which showed abundance, sharing, and generosity, there was enough food to share, even to the wolves. When Ignatius became the head, or the General of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, he had to write thousands of letters – more than 7000 letters actually – to Jesuits and other people. He used a symbol to seal and stamp with wax the letters he sent all over the world. His seal bears the first three letters of the name of Jesus, IHS. It became the seal of the Society of Jesus.
When we look at the seal of Ignatius and the Jesuits, think about and reflect on your own seal. If you were to draw, or create a seal for yourself, how will it look like. What images will it contain? Will it have animals like wolves? Or initials and symbols? I am sure that many of you have made such visual representations of yourselves. In our modern-day pop technological jargon, we call them Avatars, like those we use for yahoo emails. In Facebook we can choose any type of profile picture, and represent ourselves with cartoons, photos, notes, links, and others. In the dazzling world of computer games like the amazingly phenomenal DOTA or Defense of the Ancients, we can choose our favorite heroes – Zeus, Naix, or Lina Inverse from all of 97 heroes, sentinels or scourge, level-up in experience, strength, agility, intelligence, craft our game plan, strategies and tactics, or in Guitar Hero, select and synchronize our favorite rhythms, songs and artists. We can construct our own personal websites, webspaces, chatrooms, games, rules, and others. The possibilities – creative and exciting – are endless in terms of defining ourselves today, introducing, presenting ourselves to the big world. And yet, the question remains: who are we, who shall we be, who do we want to be. In the Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples: who do people say that I am? The question of identity confronts us. Are we real or virtual? Actual or imagined? Are we portraying our selves as we are now, or as we wish to be in the future? Who do you say you are? Who do people say you are?
In the case of Ignatius, he chose his identity to be simple, uncomplicated, yet deep and profound. He chose his identity, his avatar, his hero, to be near, to be close, to the identity of Jesus. Jesus, simply, profoundly Jesus. The first Jesuits named their group in honor of Jesus, the Compaña de Jesus. They wanted themselves, their identities to be near that of Jesus, so that they will not wander far and forget who they are. Perhaps whenever we see the seal of Ignatius and the Jesuits, we can reflect on our own personal seals, symbols, images, our heroes, our profiles, and our avatars. Do we identify with Jesus as Ignatius did? Or do we identify with someone else, with something else?
And so, dear students, dear faculty and staff, in this feast of our founder, St. Ignatius, let us reflect on his legacy and his spirit, a legacy and spirit that remains alive today, almost five centuries after. His sword, his star, his seal. Our own swords, stars, and seals. His spirit and tradition. Alive and burning in our community here in Ateneo. Alive and burning in our hearts.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.
29 July 2010
