Bishop Jose Ignacio Munilla of San Sebastian, Spain recently
explained that man can only achieve holiness in communion with the
tradition of the Catholic Church.
The bishops words came at a Mass celebrating the memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Bishop Munilla celebrated Mass at the parish of St. Sebastian in the
city of Azpeitia, where the baptismal font used to baptize St. Ignatius
is preserved.
The spirituality of this Spanish saint, he said, was the
best antidote to the rupture Luther introduced between Christ and His
Church.
“St. Ignatius is an example of a living and unabated faith in the ‘whole Christ’ faithfully upheld at a historic time in which many broke with the Church. He shows us that only saints authentically interpret the Gospel, in communion with the Tradition of the Church. Everything else is a mere ideology of man, even though sometimes it may be wrapped in theological language,” the bishop said.
“The followers of Jesus are called to live a life that his Christ-centered and not self-centered,” as St. Ignatius did, he added.
Bishop Munilla pointed out that when belief in the divinity of Christ is weakened and He is portrayed as a mere man, the Church ends up being seen as a mere human institution.
“St. Ignatius is an example of a living and unabated faith in the ‘whole Christ’ faithfully upheld at a historic time in which many broke with the Church. He shows us that only saints authentically interpret the Gospel, in communion with the Tradition of the Church. Everything else is a mere ideology of man, even though sometimes it may be wrapped in theological language,” the bishop said.
“The followers of Jesus are called to live a life that his Christ-centered and not self-centered,” as St. Ignatius did, he added.
Bishop Munilla pointed out that when belief in the divinity of Christ is weakened and He is portrayed as a mere man, the Church ends up being seen as a mere human institution.
“But when Christ is proclaimed as
true God and true man, the Church then becomes much more. She is the
prolongation of the presence of God among us; she is the Mystical Body
of Christ through whose veins runs the Spirit of Christ,” he said.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Inigo Lopez de Loyola was born in 1491 in Azpeitia, Spain, to a noble
family. He fought in the war against France and spent long hours at the
shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, where he began a life of poverty,
prayer and penance.
After a powerful mystical experience, he wrote the Spiritual Exercises and later founded the Society of Jesus, which today includes 19,000 priests, students and brothers.
After a powerful mystical experience, he wrote the Spiritual Exercises and later founded the Society of Jesus, which today includes 19,000 priests, students and brothers.