Celebrating the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola
This past weekend, we celebrated the annual feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus and our patron at Thrive For Life. The celebration marked the close of the 500th anniversary of Ignatius’s conversion at Pamplona when he was injured in battle. During his convalescence, he read the Lives of the Saints and the Life of Christ, making him fall in love with the Church and prompting him to devote his own life to Jesus.
In commemoration of this special day, Thrive For Life gathered with our resident scholars, family, and friends to break bread with one another in the garden of Ignacio House. The evening began with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, during which Fr. Zach spoke of Ignatius’s vocation and intense love for his faith and community. He reminded those gathered of his important emphasis on deep discernment in one’s life, endeavoring to see God’s presence in all things, even in darkness. Afterward, folks went out to the garden to enjoy each other’s company and conversation over plenty of food graciously prepared by Gloria and Alejandro from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in the Bronx. To close out the evening, Sebastian and Fr. Zach gave a talk detailing the life and ministry of St. Ignatius and the early days of Jesuits, followed by a short film. An important theme concerned that of community—namely, cherishing and loving one’s fellow person as we seek to grow and flourish.
Thrive For Life is incredibly grateful to all those who helped make our celebration festive and grace-filled. Special thanks are due to the Friends of Ignacio House at St. Pius X who generously helped organize and provide catering for the event. We are also especially grateful to Sebastian, our Supportive Services Coordinator, and Vivian, our Supportive Services Intern, and Young Executive Board member, for working tirelessly to prepare a memorable and joyous celebration. Finally, we thank our friends, resident scholars, and volunteers who were able to attend to share the day with us as we continue to build community with our brothers and sisters behind and beyond the prison walls.