Clarity amidst all confusions

THE WORD AND THE SAINT 

July 31, 2024 - Remembering St. Ignatius of Loyola

Jeremiah 15:10, 20-21; Matthew 13: 44-46

The first reading pictures to us Jeremiah as a person totally lost, confused, demoralised a bit and to an extent even at his wit's end. He speaks of how miserable he is and how he is surrounded by the evil doers and God-haters. However, amidst all these confusions, there is a constant clarity that is visible: the clarity that God is for him. He was convinced, whoever be against him, God was for him. As St. Paul puts it, "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31). That clarity is the lesson today, also from the saint we celebrate, St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Once again falling back to the first reading we see that, Jeremiah endures all pain and suffering, all persecution and injustice for the sake of the mission entrusted to him, because he was confident that it was God who has entrusted it to him. Like the treasure hidden in the field and that exceptional pearl sighted among the rest, he had the promises of God well fixed in his mind. That was enough a reason for him to risk everything, even his life. Just as Ignatius who risked everything, because he found the Lord!

Not just Ignatius whom we celebrate today, but we have had great saints in history who have lived this life of prophecy, who have lived their lives in the midst of utter confusions and endless tribulations. All of them were ready to give up anything in life, or even give up their life, because they had unearthed an unbelievable treasure in the midst of that barren land, because they had sighted the most precious stone in the midst of all the deceiving glitters. 

If we find the Lord and encounter the Lord face to face, if we become aware of what the Lord has to offer us, we shall have that enviable clarity amidst confusion, which Ignatius had; and that alone would be enough for a meaningful living!