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- Event date: 31/07/2017
- Updated on: 31/07/2017
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Total Photos:
70
Description: St. Xavier's celebrated The Ignatian week from 24th of July to 31st of July to mark the importance of the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola in our lives. St. Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491 in northern Spain. As a young man he was influenced by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds. But in 1521 he was gravely wounded in a battle with the French. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a conversion. Reading the lives of Jesus and the saints made him happy and aroused desires to do great things. Over the years he became expert in the art of spiritual direction. He collected his insights, prayers and suggestions in his book, 'Spiritual Exercises', one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written. With a small group of friends, like Francis Xavier, Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits in 1540. He conceived the Jesuits as "contemplatives in action". He died in the year 1556 on 31st July. By the time Ignatius died, there were over 1000 Jesuits serving in 3 continents. Ignatius motivated his followers to' find God in all things ' and work' for the greater Glory of God ' with the spirit of' Magis' which means 'more'. Following his footsteps the Jesuits have founded and manage a number of institutions all over the world. In the wake of this, every day a student read out the message of St. Ignatius in the morning during the assembly to motivate and help us imbibe his teachings and seek his blessings. It was all the more important as during the week the 1st term examination was going on and it was as if the students marched into the examination room seeking the blessings of a father. The students read the message of Ignatius of, spiritual awakening, Magis, discernment, examination, all for the Greater glory of God. The Jesuits aspire for the maximum and not be satisfied with the minimum. So with this ideal, St. Xavier's aims at forming the children into men and women of Competence, Conscience and Compassionate Commitment which are the four pillars of the Jesuit Education. As we prepare our body and mind for a noble deed, the messages served the same purpose for the Preparation of the feast of Ignatius of Loyola on 31st of July with the students and staff members. It was a moment of joy, celebration and prayer and deep thinking, preparing ourselves to do our best, facing the day to day challenges bravely just as St. Ignatius of Loyola did. We prayed for the peace of country , good health and prosperity of all. The keynote of the feast was that it became a celebration of all religious groups as messages from the holy books Quran, Geeta Jee, Guru Granth Sahib and Bible were read out, as all give us the same message, of humanism. We all strive for our motto "For God and Country". As we celebrate the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola let us pray that we have the greater grace in his footsteps and bring glory of God and our country through our lives.