Five hundred years ago May 23, Iñigo de Loyola met with a redemptive disaster.  He was hit by a cannonball and subsequently experienced a long and painful recuperation.  As unwelcome as disasters are, they often spark conversions.  Succinctly put - no cannonball hit, no Saint Ignatius and no Jesuits. 

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In recognition of this anniversary,  Jesuits and their companions around the world are observing an “Ignatian Year” that commences on May 23.  Conversion will be a central theme – How are we called to change in response to today’s world?

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This past year the world met with near universal disaster – the pandemic.  We are at the beginning of a long recuperation.   Pope Francis, a follower of Ignatius, has called us to do more than repair the damage and return to a pre-pandemic norm.  He’s asking us to imagine a new world, just as Ignatius’s imagination led him through his conversion.

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The question today – How are we called to change in response to today’s world?  Whatever our answers are, we would be wise to heed Ignatius’s dictum “Love is better shown by deeds than words.”