Feat of St. Ignatius of Loyola

 

AMDG.

“Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”

“To the Greater Glory of God.”

 

These four simple Latin words form the Jesuit motto.  We frequently use the acronym AMDG at the beginning or end of a letter.  The AMDG logo, the four letters resting in the arms of a cross, is engraved on the vow ring my mom gave me twenty-five years ago.  Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam explains everything about the Society of Jesus and its men when it is working  at its best.

 

Ignatius of Loyola was a complex man.  Born into minor Spanish nobility in 1491,  he spent most of his youth learning to be a soldier and a member of the royal court.  He was vain and liked to wear flattering and form-fitting clothes. Though poorly uneducated, he could read and had very fine penmanship.  At age twenty-two the hot-headed Basque soldier was seriously injured while leading his overmatched men in the Battle of Pamplona.  It was one of the most blessed injuries in the history of war. 

 

While convalescing in the castle of Loyola he underwent a conversion experience and was gradually drawn in by the desire to do great things for God, to do all things AMDG; for the Greater Glory of God.  It is a fascinating story. 

 

One example of his drive and determination was obvious when he desired to enter the University of Paris in his mid-twenties. Because he had not had an adequate education he went back to the equivalent of junior high school to learn the Latin and Greek he needed to enter the University.  Ignatius was charismatic. 

Once at the University of Paris a group of men gathered around him to do the Spiritual Exercises that he worked out while in Manresa.  Among these men were Francis Xavier and Peter Faber who are among the original nine companions when the Society of Jesus was established in 1540. 

 

Ignatius wrote an enormous number of letters,  was involved in writing the Jesuit Constitutions, missioning men throughout the world, and answering hundreds of questions as the Society grew.   Indeed, he never again left Rome, a bit of irony considering the travel histories of many of us. 

 

A man who tried to put the best possible interpretation on what he was told times had to put his foot down firmly at times.  Shortly after entering  novices read the famous Letter on Obedience, a 4000 word missive that he wrote to young Jesuits in Portugal who were being rebellious.

 

Despite his ability as a founder and administrator it was the fruit of his prayer

that changed world history in ways that can never be overestimated.  Despite the enormous demands of the rapidly growing Society, despite dealing with hostility

from other orders and the occasional pope, he was disposed to hear and contemplate the word of God in the midst of, and despite many, distractions. 

 

His health was not good as a result of excessive penances and fasting that he undertook soon after his conversion, excesses which he later abandoned after realizing the damage he had done.   He continued to pray and work without grumbling, always to the Greater Glory of God.

 

Ignatius dictated his autobiography reluctantly in response to the demands of his men.  It is very short but very revealing and well worth the few hours needed to read it.    

 

Ignatius died in 1556 at age 65.  He had been named the first general of the Society in 1541 and was still holding that office at the time of his death.

 

Jesuits regularly pray several prayers attributed to Father Ignatius.   I was introduced to one of these prayers shortly before entering when George Murray, SJ, MD asked “What’s my favorite prayer?”  I admitted I had no idea.  He spun his office hair around, pulled open a file cabinet, and unfolded a wrinkled paper that had been unfolded many times over the year.  The Prayer for Generosity was the only thing on it.

 

"O Lord, teach me to be generous

To serve you as you deserve

To give and not to count the cost

To fight and not to heed the wounds

To toil and not to seek for rest

To labor and not to ask for reward

Save that of knowing I do your holy will."

 

St. Ignatius pray for us.

 

Photos are from Loyola, Spain in 2019.  

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Silver Threads Among the Gold: 4th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

 

Pope Francis designated the Fourth Sunday of July, as the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on January 31, 2021. This particular Sunday was selected because of its proximity to the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Ann, the parents of Mary, that we celebrated on Friday.  Today is the fourth annual observance on which we are encouraged to pray for and with those who are old. Today is also an opportunity to pray for the gift of wisdom, a gift that begins to accrue with old age. And tragically, it is a day to pray for an end to legislation that permits and encourages the intentional killing of the sick and elderly.

 

Being old in the age denying U.S. is not easy. We live in a country in which youth, productivity, and vigor are celebrated while the elderly are increasingly marginalized.  Australian Trappist Michael Casey writes: "Some societies reverence the old, seeing in them the embodiments of ancient wisdom and experience.  We, on the contrary, seem to hanker after illusory youthfulness,

(an illusion that is) quickly and irretrievably left behind."  There are no valid arguments to counter Casey’s assessment.

 

Among the most insulting of comments directed at an old person is the ever popular and terribly unoriginal, "You're not 83 years old,  You're 83 years YOUNG."  (Throw in a few high-decibel whoo whoo whoos and arm pumps

if your are so inclined.)

 

Nothing horrifies Americans as much as the thought of aging. Few things cause as much anxiety as the idea of having to live within the physical, cognitive, and functional limits imposed as we become old. Insisting that an octogenarian is young efficiently accomplishes two things.  It strips the individual of his or her dignity and reveals the speaker's terror of aging, fear of death, lack of compassion, and general unkindness.  Some do have an easier time with aging than others.  But, no matter what, we cannot afford to deny the reality of the old by insisting they are really young despite all evidence to the contrary. If we are truly to honor and respect the elderly we must accept each individual for who, what, and how he or she really is rather than demanding they be who, what, and how we want them to be, which is young, independent, and ideally, not a bother.

 

Growing Old in Christ is a 20-some year-old book that consists of nineteen essays on ‘the Christian practice of growing old.’  In one of the essays Stanley Hauerwaus writes,  ". . . one of the problems of our time is the assumption that we can and should live as if we will never grow old." The reality is that the only way to avoid growing old is to die young.

 

In chapter twelve of The Book of Job, we are asked: “Is not wisdom found among the aged?  Does not long life bring understanding?”  Denying the reality of aging is a refusal to acknowledge and respect the wisdom of those who are old.

 

Wisdom is a gift meant to be shared with the young, even those who are unwilling to accept it.  And sometimes bits of it stick even to those who would reject it.  Wisdom is not innate.  It is not genetic. Wisdom is acquired.  It is acquired through long experience of success and failure, through ecstatic victory and bitter defeat.  It is acquired most easily by those with a listening heart and the courage to enter into silence and prayer so as to reflect on their lives with awareness that those lives are nearing an end.

 

Wisdom is a force in the world that is critical to civilization and fundamental to being human. Wisdom is the most significant factor that separates us from all lower animals without exception.  Wisdom also separates us from “artificial intelligence” a title that only gets it half-right: it is artificial.   

 

When others insist that an old man or an old woman is YOUUUUUUUUNG they are denying his or her existence, disparaging the challenges he or she has faced, and throwing in a complimentary dollop of hostility,  in part because the old mirror what the speaker will become if said speaker lives long enough.

 

For many years the Journal of the American Medical Association, more commonly known as JAMA featured cover art with commentary by M. Therese Southgate, a physician who was a self-taught art historian. Some weeks her essay on the cover art was the best thing in it.  It was always the first thing I read.

 

The cover on May 3,1995 issue featured a painting by Georges de la Tour titled “Old Man.”  Southgate closed her essay with a quote from Swiss moral philosopher  Henri Amiel who wrote. "To know how to grow old is the masterwork of wisdom and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living."

 

In light of today’s commemoration of grandparents and the elderly, the celebration of aging and wisdom, the final verses of the Book of Habakkuk are particularly relevant.  They describe the situation of many of us who are old and facing diminished strength and loss of resources while simultaneously giving us hope.

 

"For though the fig tree blossom not

nor fruit be on the vines,

though the yield of the olive fail

and the terraces produce no nourishment,

though the flocks disappear from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

Yet will I rejoice in the Lord

and exult in my saving God.

God, my Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet swift as those of hinds

and enables me to go upon the heights”

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All of the photos are of the elderly who accepted the fact that they were old.

Father Rabago, SJ in Taiwan.  Rabago was a Spanish physician and Jesuit priest who spent his life in Taiwan.  He was 104 at the time of the photo.  Seen at Tien Center in central Taipei.

An elderly Australian Jesuit at prayer.  He was blind and living in the infirmary.

I don't know if this woman was elderly or younger but weathered.  This was her second day sitting in the courtyard of Good Samaritan Hospital in N'Djamena, Chad.  The sun was searing.  No idea what she was waiting for but I suspect it was the time to go in to visit or feed a relative.

Elderly Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres in My Tho, Vietnam.  I was attending a celebration for the Mother General on her feast.  I could not take my eyes off of them, wondering what they experienced and saw during the war.  In the last row behind them are young women who are candidates and postulants.

My mom presenting the gifts to Cardinal O'Malley at our ordination.  This was in 2007.  Mom was approaching 91 at the time and would go on to live almost two more years.

A three-generation family waiting to cross the street on Roosevelt Road in Taipei, Taiwan. 

Father James (call me Jimmy) A. Martin, SJ, a native of Plymouth, PA (my hometown) and the only other man I know from there who became a Jesuit.  In this photo Jimmy was 103.  He died at the age of 105 one month and one day on 1 October 2007.  One day I joined Jimmy at table at Georgetown.  He was with two Jesuits from West Africa who had very soft voices and very thick French accents.  They were trying to tell him that had never met anyone as old (he was 104 when this happened).  Because he couldn't hear or understand them I joined the talk and said, "Jimmy, these men are amazed you lived as long as you have."  He grinned, stroked his chin and replied, "So am I, so am I." 

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Jer 23:1-6

Ps 23

Eph 2:13-18

Mk 6:30-34

 

The shepherd was crucial to Ancient Near Eastern life. His flocks supplied food and wool. He protected the sheep from wild animals and thieves and kept them from getting lost.  The shepherd made certain that the flocks were safe at night

and pastured during the day.  It is no surprise then, that the shepherd became a symbol for those with authority over others.  The ideal king in the Ancient Near East was protector, rescuer, and servant of the people. That ideal was not always met.

 

Being a shepherd was never easy. Being responsible for the care, protection and guidance of others is not easy.  It never will be easy.  A good shepherd is a leader but also a companion.  A good shepherd is strong, decisive, and demanding when necessary but gentle and flexible when the situation demands.

 

The shepherd keeps the sheep on the right path and seeks out the rebellious ones who stray and become lost. The shepherd loves and cares for the sheep

and will lay down his life for them, even the ones who need to be dragged back again and again.  Ask any parent.

 

A parent's vocation is that of shepherd.  That is to guide and protect when necessary, and to keep the kiddos on the right path, while loving and caring for them at all times. The shepherd's responsibilities are serious and at times burdensome.  The responsibilities must never be ignored or perverted as is made plain in the opening verse from Jeremiah, "Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord."

 

Many of Israel’s kings, about whom Jeremiah was speaking, were unfaithful to their calling.  They ignored their roles as shepherds, rebelled against God, and failed to care for those entrusted to them.  The same can be said for too many political figures in the U.S.

 

Many of those ancient shepherds had no concern for their flocks but only for themselves.   They ignored the people they were to guide, and allowed them to remain lost and bewildered. Things haven’t changed much.  Today, there are financial “shepherds” who take good care of themselves with no concern for those to whom they are responsible.  Think back Bernie Madoff who destroyed many lives.  But there is also the Little League president who embezzles funds meant for the kids.  Same sins simply different budgets.

 

Too many news stories describe parents who leave young children alone and unsupervised.  Parents who ignore their responsibilities as they go out to drink, do drugs, gamble, or shop are beneath contempt.  Once we are responsible

for the care of others no matter the type of care, we carry the same responsibilities as the shepherds of the Ancient Near East, and face the same punishment Jeremiah described if we neglect those duties.

 

Psalm 23, 'The Lord is my shepherd,'  is probably the most well-known and beloved of the 150 psalms that make up the Church's ancient prayer book.  There are times I cannot hear this psalm without memories of the black and white westerns I watched as a kid.  No funeral in Dry Creek Gulch was officially over until the preacher, wearing a black frock coat, intoned "The Lord is my shepherd . . . " while someone pounded a rough wooden cross into the mound of dirt over the grave.  And of course there was John Wayne who stood off to the side,  glowered, and caressed his gun.

 

The images in the psalm speak to our desires for peace, safety, rest, and our wish to be cared for. The images are comforting and consoling as they invoke the shepherd who gives the sheep rest, cool water, and protection in green pastures. 

It is not easy being that shepherd.  The gospel showed that.

 

The sheep can be demanding, wanting more than the shepherd can give. Despite Jesus' fatigue and the apostles' need for rest we heard his response to those who looked for Jesus.  “When he saw the crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them . . . . .”

 

Jesus' hunger and fatigue took a backseat to the needs of the sheep. 

 

Placing the needs of others before one's own is part of being a good shepherd

in our own vocations, jobs, or occupations or when we are responsible for the care of others. Jesus gives us the model of the Good Shepherd.  Our choice is whether or not to  accept or reject that model, whether to choose for or against His example.

 

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Up in VT last weekend.  At most I either say private Masses or concelebrate on Sunday.  No homily last week.   The photos are studies in 'light painting'  No need to caption.  

 

 

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Who Does He Think He Is? Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Ez 2:2-5

Ps 123:1-4

2 Cor 12:7-10

Mk 6:1-6

 

What was the thorn in Paul's flesh?  What was the nagging irritation that kept him from being too elated?  Don't bother with the commentaries.  There is no agreement among scholars, from Augustine to the present, on the nature of that thorn.  Was it a physical ailment?  Suggestions include an eye disease, recurrent kidney stones, or attacks of gallstones. 

 

St. John Chrysostom wondered if the thorn was Paul’s persistent critics and opponents who complicated his struggle to preach the gospel.  Paul’s stated acceptance of weaknesses, insults, and persecutions would support such an argument. Other Church Fathers, and later commentators, suggest temptation.  Was it temptation to power, to pride,  or simply garden variety lust? 

 

Some opine that it was guilt and shame over his complicity in the persecution of Jesus' early followers. This last makes sense.  How often do we cringe at a memory that causes us guilt and shame?  How often do we wish we could forget hurting another  and want to take back the harmful words or deeds?

Those questions lead us to the gospel. 

 

Read through the eyes of believers, the gospel suggests one of the most satisfying and self-destructive of sins: smugness, a form of pride marked by self-righteousness.   Smugness would leads many a Christian to assume that had I been present at this scene I never would have criticized Jesus for being a local kid come back years later.   I never would have felt that Jesus was the boy down the street who is so full of himself. 

 

In reality, chances are that had any of us been in the crowd we would have felt the same thing they did  and would have joined in the chorus of disapproval. “who does he think he is?” “where did he get all of this?”  “a little too big for his britches if you ask me.” While it doesn’t matter whether or not we nurture fantasies of standing apart from the crowd, complacent self-righteousness can impair our relationships throughout life.

 

One of the great challenges we face is that of honoring the “prophets” in our midst, the prophets in our families, and the prophets about whom we think

"I remember him when . . . "  We mutter under our breath,  “I remember when he was a budding juvenile delinquent.” We grumble, “Listen to her she never did finish that degree." 

 

Smugness is destructive pride that is prejudicial in the extreme.  It causes us to call premature closure on something we may need to hear.  It may cause us to reject the truth out of hand simply because we know the messenger.  That was the sin of Jesus’ critics. 

 

They knew everything about him—or so they thought.  In his commentary on this passage, the late Jesuit Father Dan Harrington described the crowd’s attitude as

the “prejudice of familiarity, ”as in the old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” 

 

“Where did he get all of this?”

“Who does she think she is?"

 

These are not reactions peculiar to the villagers of 1^st century Palestine. They cloud too many of our relationships.

 

To paraphrase Walt Kelly’s Pogo: “We have met the people and they are us.”a

 

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The photos are from my only trip to Ogunquit, Maine around ten years ago.  I generally do not go to beaches during the summer.  Too many people..  All were converted to black and white which is my favorite medium.    Each of them triggers a lot of thoughts, memories, and projections.  

 

Lifeguard was one of the first jobs with serious responsibility for guys my age (we are talking sixty years ago).  I never was one as I was not a good swimmer.  But, it is something like certain specialties in medicine involving a lot of tedium and routine interrupted by moments of pure terror. 

Could never have done this kind of contrast in the color version as it made the colors surreal.

One of my favorite shots.  It is an essay in being a kid, being a dad, the carefree experiences of summer.  I will admit that I removed a girl from the shot.  She was walking in the water with a float board.  Much better photo that way.  

 No homily next week as I will be in Vermont until Sunday.  Not much in the way of internet access. 

 

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD