Blog 3

As we see at Manresa, Ignatius strongly believed in the spirit world, and especially in the presence of the devil (the evil one as he calls it.) Do you believe in an evil spirit?

I definitely believe that there is an evil spirit out there, and I consider that evil spirit the devil. In our lives, we are forced to make certain decisions. I think that when we make smart decisions that benefit others, and ourselves we are following Jesus’ way. But, there are times when we make decisions that are harmful to others, and ourselves, and I believe that those decisions stem from the devil. The devil is spirit that I believe is around us to temp us, and make us stray away from God and doing good. Because of the devil, we are more likely to sin.  I think the devil is certainly the enemy of not only God, but all of mankind.

I know I am faced with temptations all the time and I feel these temptations stem from the devil and his actions. Without him tempting us, there would be no sin in the world. I feel that the evil that is done in the world is committed by the devil through others. I feel that every day we are faced with the battle between good and evil, even in simple decisions we must make in our lives. I believe we must suffer in our lives because of the actions of the devil, but through our faith in God, we can steer away from the bad actions of the devil and focus on the good that God has planned for us. 

Blog 2

“If you want to be of use to others, begin by taking pains with yourself:  the fire that is to enkindle others should be lighted at home.”

I think this quote by Ignatius is something that is very true and important for us to realize. When it comes to relationships with other people, the way in which you interact is always rooted in how you treat yourself and how you were treated at home.  But, I don't only think that Ignatius only meant "lighted at home" as in your family or the place you call home, but home as in you yourself. The fire should begin with you, and the way you care about yourself completely determines how you will interact and treat the people around you. When Ignatius said "be of use to others" I think he meant it more in a way of "treating others." We are "at use" to people when we treat them with respect. We are "at use" to people when we care about helping them and when we make them realize we can be there for them. When Ignatius said "by taking pains with yourself" I think he meant that you have to take care of yourself and watch that you don't harm yourself. I think we are too harmful to ourselves and need to be careful with ourselves and realize that the way in which we view ourselves will determine how we view others. For me, I have always been seen as someone who treats others with the utmost respect because that is what people deserve. I know that it is because of how I was raised and how I was treated by my parents and the rest of my family. The interactions I had growing up in my household were all respectful. I always knew the correct way to talk to my parents and my siblings. I always knew the way I should talk to my elders and event the people that were my age or younger than me. I was always taught from day one that the way I should treat all people is how I would want to be treated. 

Blog 1

Not only have I heard amazing things about this class, I have always been interested in the life of Ignatius Loyola. Being raised in the Catholic church and going to Catholic school my entire life, I have always had interest in learning about what it is that shapes our faith, particularly the people help shape it. Before attending Loyola, I was not very familiar with who Ignatius was, but now being a senior here, I feel I have had the privilege of learning about certain details in the life of Ignatius. Although these details have been a part of my learning experience at this school, becoming more familiar with Ignatius in a classroom environment, dedicated to his life and what shaped his faith I felt was important.

There are several events we have already learned about that have helped shape Ignatius’ life in the church.  Similarly to that, there are several events in my own life that have affected me and shaped me into the person I am today. I think living in the 21^st century has completely affected the lives of all people. Living through the wars and social issues of our times I think has a lot to do with how my life has been shaped. Living through events like 9/11, the war in Iraq, hurricane Katrina, the tsunami, and other deadly occurrences affects our lives in drastic ways. Learning about the events in the time period of Ignatius’ life will be interesting to compare to how the events in our era have played out and affected our lives. I am curious to see how the events of his time period relate to the times of today’s society.