On Saturday May 22, 2021, the Jesuit Order in Jordan celebrated the Ignatian year which starts from May 2021 until the end of July 31, 2022 marking the Feast of St. Ignatius.

 

Marking the start of the Ignatian year, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan Bishop William Shomali celebrated Holy Mass at the Saint John de la Salle Church in Jabal Hussein, Amman, in the presence of archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Petra and Philadelphia and entire Jordan Joseph Jbarah, parish priest Issam Zu'mot, a number of priests and nuns, as well as a number of the faithful.

 

In his homily, Bishop Shomali indicated in his sermon that there are dates that a person cannot forget, as is the case with Saint Ignatius, for after he was wounded in the Battle of Pamplona on May 20, 1521, he realized that the most important work in a person’s life is to serve others. He stressed that experiencing and ordeals and pain is a path through which the light of faith can be restored, and this is what we witness in the world that is currently going through the current pandemic.

 

He added: "In the midst of the world experiencing faith, we feel that God is present, that He is the working in and around us, and that the light of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit will defeat all evils, especially the sins that attack bodies and hearts. Let us look with the eyes of God at human matters, follow the model of Saint Ignatius, and let us make serving and loving others as the goal of our human life on Earth."

 

At the outset of the Holy Mass, Fr. Piemel welcomed the faithful on behalf of the Jesuit Order in Jordan, noting that this Holy Mass marks the start of the Ignatian year  which commemorates the500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’s injury during the Battle of Pamplona on 20 May 1521. While defending the citadel of Pamplona against French forces, St. Ignatius was seriously injured after being struck by a canon ball. This led to a long period of convalescence which began his conversion and subsequent transformation from soldier to saint.

 

During this year, themed “to see all things new in Christ”, the Jesuits will also mark the 400thanniversary of the canonization of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier on 12 March 2022.

 

Guided by the theme of the Ignatian year, the Society of Jesus hopes to encourage everyone to draw inspiration from the example of St. Ignatius and his inner struggle to conversion which led him to a close familiarity with God. This familiarity, in turn, led him to find God in all things and to see all things new in Christ.

 

Superior General of the Jesuits Fr. Arturo Sosa said, "The Ignatian year is a call to allow the Lord to work on our conversion. We ask for the grace to be renewed by the Lord. We wish to discover a new apostolic enthusiasm inside ourselves, a new life, and new ways to follow the Lord. That is why we have chosen as our theme for the year: to see all things new in Christ.”

 

Fr. Pierre Belanger said: “The Ignatian year is, first of all, to be considered from a spiritual perspective. It gives us the opportunity to highlight one of the four apostolic preferences of the Society of Jesus which is to show the way to God. For that, St. Ignatius gave us an extraordinary heritage of the Spiritual Exercises and also spiritual discernment. " He added, “During this year, there will be several resources all over the world to better know the Spiritual Exercises – a way to help us find true liberty in our lives; and also the way of discernment – knowing how to consider the future, and justice in the face of different options placed before us. It is thus, an opportunity to know and deepen Ignatian spirituality.”

 

Marking the Ignatian year , we pray to Saint Ignatius saying:

"O Glorious Patriarch, St. Ignatius, we humbly beseech you to obtain for us from God above all the things, freedom from sin, the greatest of evils.

"May your example inflame our hearts with an efficacious glory to God and the good of our neighbor, and obtain from the loving Heart of Jesus, our Lord, the crown of all other graces, the gift of final perseverance, and eternal beatitude. Amen."