7/31/2014 – St Ignatius of Loyola – Jeremiah 18:1-6

       Jeremiah is sent to a potter’s workshop by God to be taught some lessons.  One lesson Jeremiah learns today is this:  just as a potter has complete control over his clay and makes whatever he wills, so is the Lord master of his people. We are like clay in his hands.  He will fashion us and mold us if we let him.

      The Lord teaches us lessons in our ordinary lives, just as he taught Jeremiah from the ordinary daily work of a potter.  I think of how this relates to the life of St Ignatius of Loyola, our saint for the day.   Since our beloved Pope Francis is a member of the Jesuits, the religious order that St Ignatius founded, it seems that we are hearing more about the Jesuits these days. Ignatius was born in late 15^th century in 1491, the year before Columbus sailed for America.  He was the youngest of 11 children from a family in the Basque country in northern Spain.  Ignatius was destined to be a solider, but while fighting at the siege of Pamplona in 1621, he suffered a broken leg that had to be re-broken after it was not set properly.  Ignatius was confined to his bed for a long period of time, where he learned about saints such as Dominic and Francis of Assisi -  the affected in him a profound conversion of faith.  After spending time as a hermit in a cave and time wandering, reflecting and ponding, Ignatius enrolled in the university of Paris at the age of 30 to become a priest, a very advanced to be in formation to be a priest.  He had to study Latin with young boys in order to get ready for his study of theology.   Like the clay that is molded by the potter, Ignatius had to open his life to be molded by God. From the humble beginnings of his conversion, to the way he wrote his spiritual exercises while trying to discern God’s will for him in his life, Ignatius of Loyola went on to found the religious order of the Society of Jesus – the Jesuit -  an order of priests that still has great influence in Catholicism today. We celebrate Ignatius of Loyola today – and pray that his prayers and intercessions accompany us on our own journey.