Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

“Pierced” comes to my mind after the proclamation of today’s gospel. Jesus was indeed pierced and already on his way to his agony in the garden after receiving the message of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist. A sigh of utter heartache certainly comes over us if we think about the depth of sin that can wish for and carry out the death of another person.

Yet, in today’s first reading, we hear about the “Day of Atonement” in the jubilee year. Our Jubilee is perhaps our entrance into the fullness of heaven. Saint John the Baptist teaches us to “behold the lamb of God,” to behold truth and justice with the compassion of Christ. The Eucharist is our hope. The abiding presence of Jesus Christ will nourish the inner place of our being with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to sustain us through life on earth.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, whom we celebrate today, was blessed to have clear discernment of the spirits, light and dark, right and wrong, good and evil, God’s triumph over the devil’s trickery. Well-disposed by confession, acts of charity, and eucharistic love, we are led to the pathway of salvation. Humility is the grace that should exist in our lives, a place of quiet within that trusts in Jesus. Saint John the Baptist had this relationship with Christ, his day of atonement was found in this sacred space, “Shall be sacred for you then, but stand in fear of your God. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 1:8-17).

In a letter to Father Joseph Audibert, SSS (I 1/20), Saint Peter Julian wrote, “Divine Providence had reserved a friend for you in Toulon, Mr. Seneqier. “He deserves full credit; he never wavered. He defended you as a most devoted friend.” This comment came after a situation Peter Julian called “diabolical malice” (Life and Letters, Volume 4, page 218).

How can we be more integral witnesses of the love of God by the Eucharist, which we carry into our world?

Let Us Pray:

Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, through the heart of your mother, grant us the grace to bring witness to the reign of your eucharistic life, to live in the sincere humility of your love.

Eucharistic Reflection – Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing (eucharisticevangelizing.com)
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