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St. Ignatius of Loyola
Prologue
Hi! My name is Erin. I’m thirteen years old and in eighth grade. I live in a small town in Minnesota. This year at church, I got the best religion teacher, Mrs. Sanchez. She lets us have a good time and we still learn a lot.
Mrs. Sanchez has a thing about St. Ignatius of Loyola. St. Ignatius lived from 1491-1556. As a young adult, he lived the life of a typical upper class bachelor. He also served as a soldier for the Spanish King. At age twenty-six, he was wounded in a battle at Pamplona. During his recovery, someone gave him two books to read. Instead of the romance novels he would have preferred, he was given religious books. These books changed his life forever. Reading about the life of Christ and the Saints led to his conversion. Ignatius resolved to do great deeds like the saints for the love of God.
Today, I am speaking to you from Rome, Italy. It is the year 1540. I have traveled through time to talk with St. Ignatius.
Erin: It’s nice to meet you, Sir.
Ignatius: Call me Ignatius, please. And you are?
Erin: My name is Erin.
Ignatius: Tell me Erin, why have you come so far to talk with me?
Erin: You see, I have this religion teacher and she has told me so much about you. She thinks you’re the best! But, I’d like to know a little more about you.
Ignatius: Well then, what would you like to know?
Erin: I heard that you developed something called spiritual exercises. I know how to exercise my body, but I don’t understand what a spiritual exercise could be.
Ignatius: Erin, you probably know that exercising your body takes discipline. Yet, exercising can also be fun. Likewise, my spiritual exercises involve discipline and fun. I designed the exercises to help people pray with scripture.
Erin: Oh, I know that the Bible is important. But, I have a hard time understanding what I read. I’m not always sure I get what it means. A person must have to be really smart to use scripture for prayer.
Ignatius: Not necessarily, Erin. All you need is your imagination and a few minutes of quiet time. Do you have both?
Erin: Yeah. But what does my imagination have to do with scripture and prayer?
Ignatius: Name a story from scripture. Since you don’t have a Bible with you, choose one you know well.
Erin: Okay. How about when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River?
Ignatius: Good! Now close your eyes and imagine yourself in the story. Ask yourself questions about the story that help you make pictures in your mind.
What does the desert look like near the Jordan River? Are there any trees? What is the air temperature? Is the air dry or humid? What do you smell?
What do the people look like that are gathered near the river? What are they wearing? Are there people in line waiting to be baptized? Are they anxious or eager?
Where are you? Are you sitting or standing? Are you alone or are there people nearby?
Picture John immersing a person. What does John look like?
Imagine Jesus walking toward the river. How do you know that this is Jesus? Do others suspect that this is someone special? Watch Jesus approach John the Baptist.
How does John react when he realizes that Jesus asking for baptism? Imagine John embracing and immersing Jesus. As they rise from the water, the heavens open. You hear God’s voice, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Look at Jesus and John’s faces, what do you see.
How do you feel?
How are others responding to what they have witnessed? Are they afraid? Are they confused? Are they excited? Are they at peace?
Now open your eyes.
Erin: Wow! I could really see it all -- the desert, the river, the people, Jesus, and John. I could even hear God’s voice!
Ignatius: You see, Erin, our senses and our imagination are God’s gifts to us in creation. We can use these gifts to help us understand scripture and to come to know God. When you read scripture, take your time. Place yourself in the story. Then ask yourself what you can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. You’ll be amazed at how the stories can come to life!
Erin: Thank you so much, Ignatius. I can hardly wait to share this with the other kids in my religion class! They all think it’s hard to understand the Bible. I bet Mrs. Sanchez would help us do this with scripture.
Ignatius: I enjoyed talking with you, Erin. You are curious, intelligent, and eager. Good luck!
Connecting to Faith First®
Grade 2, chapter 21
Junior High, Liturgy and Morality, chapter 23
