MEMORIAL OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, PRIEST AND SAINT GERMANUS, BISHOP OF AUXERRE ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 31ST: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest and Saint Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the safety and well-being of all those in the military, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for those going through difficulties especially during these challenging times, for the poor and the needy. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏🏾
SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, PRIEST: St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was a Spanish Basque Catholic priest and theologian. He was born of a noble family at the castle of Loyola in Giupuscoa, Basque country, Spain on October 23, 1491, the youngest of thirteen children. Reared in the Court of Ferdinand V of Aragon, the husband of Isabella of Castile, he entered the army and distinguished himself by his valor. In keeping with the young aristocrats of his day, Ignatius sought after military prowess, vainglory, and fame, and became a knight at the age of seventeen. He was known as a fancy dresser, an expert dancer, a womanizer, sensitive to insult, and involved in criminal behavior. He was wounded at the siege of Pamplona, in a war between Charles V and Francis I, King of France. During a period of convalescence after being wounded at the battle he read the “Lives of the Saints,” a collection of saint biographies and a Life of Christ. These books profoundly affected him, and he experienced a conversion of heart from worldliness to piety. Henceforth, his life belonged entirely to God. He desired to pattern his life after the great saints, and ceremoniously hung up his military garments before an image of the Virgin Mary. After experiencing a vision of the Blessed Mother with the Infant Jesus, he had a general confession in the monastery of Monserrat. The Saint spent ten months in the solitude of Manresa, he lived for a time as an ascetic in a cave. It was during this time that he formulated his famous Spiritual Exercises, the spiritual centerpiece of the religious order he would later establish. He then went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and studied theology for many years, where he worked to convert Muslims. St. Ignatius returned to complete his studies in Spain and then France, where he received his theology degree.
During his studies he gathered a group of six like-minded men, including Sts. Peter Faber and Francis Xavier and founded the Society of Jesus, today known as the Jesuits and became its first Superior General at Paris in 1541. The Jesuit order is dedicated to teaching and missionary work. They went as missionaries all over the world to spread the Gospel, especially focusing on education. At Montmarte they vowed to go to Palestine, or to offer themselves to the Pope to be employed in the service of God in some other manner. Receiving ordination at Venice together with his companions, St. Ignatius went to Rome where he was graciously received by Pope Paul III. The Society was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540, and it grew rapidly, spreading to India in the East and to Brazil in the West. St. Ignatius remained in Rome, where he employed in consolidating and governing his Society. There he became the friend of St. Philip Neri. He was General of the Society more than fifteen years. Saint Ignatius was noted as an inspired spiritual director. He recorded his method in a celebrated treatise called the Spiritual Exercises, a simple set of meditations, prayers, and other mental exercises, first published in 1548. It is known as “Ignatian spirituality”, often used today for retreats and individual discernment. St. Ignatius died peacefully on July 31, 1556. He was beatified in 1609, and canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622. He is the patron saint of the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay as well as of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He was declared patron saint of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. Ignatius is also the foremost patron saint of soldiers. St. Ignatius of Loyola’s feast day is July 31st.
The Jesuits remain numerous today, have over 30,000 members and 500 universities and colleges worldwide. On April 22, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI presided over a Eucharistic concelebration for the Society of Jesus. He addressed the fathers and brothers of the Society present at the Vatican Basilica, calling to mind the dedication and fidelity of their founder. “St. Ignatius of Loyola was first and foremost a man of God who in his life put God, his greatest glory and his greatest service, first,” the Pope said. “He was a profoundly prayerful man for whom the daily celebration of the Eucharist was the heart and crowning point of his day.” “Precisely because he was a man of God, St Ignatius was a faithful servant of the Church,” Benedict continued, recalling the saint’s “special vow of obedience to the Pope, which he himself describes as ‘our first and principal foundation.’” Highlighting the need for “an intense spiritual and cultural training,” Pope Benedict called upon the Society of Jesus to follow in the footsteps of St. Ignatius and continue his work of service to the Church and obedience to the Pope, so that it’s members “may faithfully meet the urgent needs of the Church today.”
PRAYER: God, You raised up St. Ignatius in Your Church for the greater glory of Your Name. Grant that we may labor on earth with his help and after his example and merit to be crowned with him in heaven. Amen 🙏🏾
SAINT GERMANUS, BISHOP OF AUXERRE: St. Germanus (c 378 – c 448), was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Auxerre in Late Antique Gaul. A Lawyer, Missionary, Reformer, Exorcist, Miracle-Worker – was born into a noble Gallo-Roman family in Autissiodorum, now Auxerre, France, in 378. He was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received an excellent education in the best Gallic schools of Arles and Lyon, and then studied law in Rome, where he eventually became a lawyer. He practiced there before the tribunal of the prefect for some years with great success. His high birth and brilliant talents brought him into contact with the court, and he married Eustachia, a lady highly esteemed in imperial circles, a devout Roman woman. He was appointed Duke of the Gaul border regions. However, he was not destined to hold a civil office – God gave St. Germanus a higher calling. The elderly local bishop St. Amator called the governor to the church, locked the doors behind him, and against Germanus’s will, tonsured him into clergy. St. Germanus accepted this unexpected turn of fate as God’s sign and was elected to the See of Auxerre in 418 by a unanimous decision of the people. The former Dux changed his life drastically: he worked hard to pray, fast and do ascetic deeds, serving the poor with his possessions. According to his hagiography he followed the example of the Lord by washing his guests’ feet and personally serving everyone at meals. The saint founded a coenobitic monastery in honor of Saints Cosmas and Damian on the banks of the local river, thus creating a unique Gallican monasticism, a century ahead of the Benedictine monasticism.
St. Germanus abandoned his career as a high-ranking government official to devote his formidable energy towards the promotion of the church and the protection of his “flock” in dangerous times, personally confronting, for instance, the barbarian king “Goar”. In Britain he is best remembered for his journey to combat Pelagianism in or around 429 AD, and the records of this visit provide valuable information on the state of post-Roman British society. He also played an important part in the establishment and promotion of the Cult of Saint Alban. The saint was said to have revealed the story of his martyrdom to St. Germanus in a dream or holy vision, and St. Germanus ordered this to be written down for public display. St. Germanus died on July 31, 448 at Ravenna, Italy of natural causes. He’s Patron Saint of Auxerre, France. St. Germanus is venerated as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, which commemorate him on 31 July.
St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre ~ Pray for us 🙏🏾