How do the ideals of St. Ignatius shape my life

in the Ateneo?

Mr. John Ricardo D. Sylva III Class of 4-K

As Ateneans, I guess we all know of the early life of San Ignacio de Loyola.

A War, A Soldier, & A Cannonball

He was the youngest child of 13 children, a soldier serving the Duke of Najera and later having sustained an injury leading to a series of painful leg surgeries without the comfort of anesthetics.

Yeah, we all know that. But in my opinion, the more important thing is, to know what happened afterwards, to know the true meaning behind it.

It took Ignatius a service-bound life, a war with France, and a cannonball to the knee for him to turn his life around. But wait, what life did he have before he turned into the saint that we all know and love?

He was actually like most of us Ateneans; rich, confident, diplomatic, proud, and vain. Yes, he was like all of us.

He used to be such a proud man like all of us, but then he took a cannonball to the knee. The injury devastated him. He knew he would have to stop doing what he loved doing.

But the cannonball shattered more than just his leg, it also shattered his heart. Suddenly an invalid, he became greatly concerned about what life had in store for him.

During the grueling healing process, he wanted to read the popular books at that time, so that he wouldn't be bored.

But he didn't get those. Instead, he read on the life of Jesus Christ, because that was all that was available to him. Little did he know, that this would change his life forever.

This recuperation changed him. He wanted to be a new man. He still wanted to be a soldier, but now he wanted to be a soldier of God.

He travelled to the Benedictine monastery, Santa Maria de Montserrat to hang up his military vestments and offered his whole life to serve God.

He served after months of prayer, creating the Spiritual Exercises. He was chosen as the first Superior General of his religious order, invested with the title of Father General by the Jesuits.

He sent his companions as missionaries around Europe to create schools, colleges, and seminaries.

He found his life of service much more fulfilling, that the life of generosity was more worthwhile and satisfying than any other.

He lived out what it says in Proverbs 11:24,

“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”

Becoming poor in wealth but generous in service made him the richest man in the world.

We are definitely not too far off from who he is. He was just like all of us, a typical teenager, but an unexpected event changed him forever.

The Big Man had planned it all along, leading him to form the Society of Jesus that led to the foundation of, yes, our beloved school. Who is to say that something like this won’t happen to us?

Just like Ignatius though, we all have our cannonballs in life. I'm not saying that we have to get hit by a steel ball going roughly 60 mph. But there are certain events in life that turn our lives around. For us, it could range from a failed test, a terrible loss of something or someone we love.

I'll ask you this: How many times were you hit by your cannonballs in life? And how did this make a change in your life?

I have gone to realize that pain is mandatory. It is what conditions us and forms us into what we become after that healing process.

Just like what Avatar Aang said,

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change".

This helps us find ourselves and what we’re meant to do by God.

We learn best from the pain we experience. We learn the most when we experience our lowest point. It is true, what they say: What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

As students in the Ateneo de Manila High School, our objective is to see Christ more clearly, follow Christ more nearly, and to love Christ more dearly, just what St. Ignatius did. We must then find ourselves as we lose ourselves in our everyday lives.

We must remember to be generous to give everything we are-our joys and our sufferings-to God. In all of this, we must find the true meaning of who we are, and why we are.

I would like to end by saying that everyone has a reason to live; and I believe that God made a very epic reason for every single one of us. It is up to us to find what God made for us and give our all just to turn that personally-crafted gift into reality.

Allow me to borrow from Prayer of Generosity and ask you these:

Will you be able to give and not count the cost?

Will you be able to fight and not heed the wounds?

Will you be able to toil and not seek for rest?

Will you be able to labor and not ask for reward?

What else can you do without expecting anything in return?

Let us end with a prayer.

In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord, help us be the people whom You want us to be. Teach us to find ourselves amidst the jungle we call life. Purify us as we travel along the road you have crafted for us, knowing only to serve You above all else. Help us survive our cannonballs in life.

Help us learn from all our pain and sufferings so that we may come out stronger and with

greater purpose. AMEN.

In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.