Inspiring Ignatian Quote #18
Well, OUCH, again! Ignatius did not set out to make people feel warm and fuzzy! 500 years ago, at the age of thirty, he had a transformative conversion experience that compelled him to speak truth despite the comfort level felt by others. His radical approach was very engaging to a turbulent 16th-century world, going through a religious, social and cultural paradigm shift much like we are experiencing today. By the time Ignatius was 50 years old, he had been an ordained Catholic priest only eight years when he and his companions would find themselves in the midst of a world facing both the Protestant Reformation (began in 1517) and, then, the Catholic Counter Reformation during the Council of Trent (1545-1563). This was the state of the 16th- century European Church.
It helps to remember that ‘the church’, is not just a building of stones, wood, glass, etc., but, it is the people who come together in common praise and worship of their Creator . . . the ‘living stones’. ‘The church’ is also identified by its leader. Notice I didn’t say leaders . . . there is only one leader of the Christian faith, for whom it is named, Jesus Christ. But the worldly leaders who attempt to guide the faithful, have a tendency to divide its followers as much as gather them into the fold. They are human, after-all. We are each invited to become the Body of Christ.
Ignatius believed that the Creator wanted all His creations to come together in unity . . . ALL of His creations. Not just all his Christian creations, Catholic creations, Protestant creations, but ALL of His creations. When politics and money and power take more of a role in the keeping up of a church, then perhaps it is time to re-evaluate its priorities. Are we caring for the poor, the oppressed, the widows, the orphans, the hungry and marginalized? Even if we don’t belong to a certain brick and mortar building called church, we are church. We are called to not only act like Christ, but be Christ in the world.
When I prepared my teens for mission trips, we always started out with this prayer as we gathered, planned, dispersed, served, and returned. The tone of the prayer changed as did the participants when they experienced ministering to others from the depths of their heart. There is a big difference between ‘acting like Christ’ (which is admirable in its own way), and ‘being Christ’ (a more authentic way).
A Spanish contemporary of Ignatius, Carmelite nun, Mystic and saint, Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) expresses how a true Christ-like heart loves:
“Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands,
yours are the feet,
yours are the eyes,
you are his body.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
Pretty powerful!
I just saw a comment online and I don’t know to whom to attribute it, but it went something like this:
What if the three persons spending their billions of dollars racing into space spent just a portion of that (millions?) to help feed and care for the earthly hungry and needy? Perhaps they do, and we just don’t hear about it? That’s fine. I try not to judge others; that is not for me to do! It’s not just about those three billionaires, but what an example they could set for the younger generation, by showing more compassion than competition. I’m sure they have enough wealth to do both! I’m really curious what they think they can find waaaay out there in space, that will make them happier than serving others with some of the wealth with which they have been so richly blessed.
When you are personally able to change a life, there is nothing that can compare. Let us each begin to help the church (humanity) not be guilty of heresy. Let us reach out in compassion to our neighbors suffering from poverty, hunger, oppression, depression, loneliness, despair, rejection . . . it doesn’t cost a thing to smile . . . look them in the eye and offer them some dignity as a fellow human being. Ask them if there is something you can bring them or do for them. It costs very little to share a cup of coffee or a sandwich. Make a peanut butter and jelly from home and attach a note saying something kind. Let them know someone cares. Give as you are able. I often have bottles of water in my car to hand out to those I happen across.
The wisdom in Proverbs challenges each of us, in our everyday situations: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” (5:27)
Jesus tells us exactly how He expects us to act, and, why! It is as much for our soul as for the other.
I encourage you to read Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 25. You are likely very familiar with it. This is where the divisions of humanity will matter and how it will be determined . . . where Jesus explains: ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” [“as you did it” = fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, visited those in prison, and, ‘his family’=all of humanity.]
See Christ in one another and ask yourself, how would Christ treat me if I were in their situation?