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Gospel: Matthew 13: 31-35
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”
He spoke to them another parable.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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What are the two most important – and, at times, difficult – words we can say?
“Yes, Jesus.”
In Latin, Iesu ita.
It’s from these two words, Iesu ita, that we get the word, “Jesuit.”
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit religious order.
Currently, there are over 17,000 Jesuit priests serving across six different continents. Even Pope Francis is a Jesuit!
But it all started 500 years ago when Ignatius said, Iesu ita, “Yes, Jesus.”
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Those were not easy words for him to speak.
Ignatius was once a soldier in the Spanish army who sought human glory in war. However, his life changed after he suffered a terrible leg injury, landing him bedridden in the hospital for months on end.
Dying of boredom, Ignatius began reading biographies of different Saints (because there was nothing else to read)! But this sparked his conversion, inspiring him to begin fighting the greatest battle of all: the battle against evil itself.
Some years later, Ignatius was ordained a Catholic priest and started the Jesuit religious order.
Again, now there are over 17,000 Jesuit priests serving across six different continents! And it all started – using today’s Gospel imagery – with a “mustard seed.”
One man said “Yes, Jesus.” Those words changed his life, and 500 years later, they are still changing the world for good.
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Imagine what might happen if you follow Ignatius’ example and say, “Yes, Jesus,” today.
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Image credits: (1) Ask Harriette (2) Jesuits.org (3) Bible.com