Message from the President

Happy St. Ignatius Feast Day! Today, we celebrate St. Ignatius Loyola, patron saint of spiritual retreats, education, and soldiers. Learn more about St. Ignatius.

I sometimes think of St. Ignatius as the “patron saint of the curveball,” and I recall the story of his wounding at the battle of Pamplona on May 20, 1521. The city was under bombardment for nearly six hours when a cannonball ricocheted off a rampart wall, broke one of his legs, and badly wounded the other. The injury left him bedridden for a year.

I suspect all of us can relate to this sort of “cannonball moment.” That moment, after six hours of bombardment, we think we’ve survived the worst of things only to be taken out by a ricocheting cannonball. These moments can be devastating: the tragic loss of a loved one, unemployment, illness, divorce, and the many other ways that loss and disappointment may show up unannounced in our lives.

Of the many gifts St. Ignatius gives us, my favorite is the endless invitation in the spiritual exercises to surrender. I believe it is the grace of surrender that guides us through these terrible cannonball moments of life. When I lay down my will and patiently seek God in all things, even these worst of times, I am invited to forgive, to heal, and to love. Let me leave you with a prayer we pray often at Jesuit, The Suscipe. May we all know the freedom and healing that come with surrender to a God who loves us without limit and without condition.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
My memory, my understanding
And my entire will,
All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
That is enough for me.

Peace,

Chris Alling
President
Jesuit High School Sacramento