This feast of St Ignatius of Loyola is particularly significant for us since we are celebrating the Ignatian Year, which started with the commemoration of Ignatius’s conversion experience at the Battle of Pamplona on 20 May, 500 years ago. In that battle, a cannonball shattered his right leg and damaged his left. His worldly ambitions were likewise crushed. His whole life had a reset, and he gradually experienced being loved by a forgiving God. From this conversion experience, other transformations in his life ensued.

This pandemic, already more than one year and a half, is like a cannonball experience for all of us. It has shattered our desires and plans, however noble they may be. It has challenged us to reset the way we live our lives. However, not all is doom and gloom in this pandemic. There have been some inspiring moments during the pandemic: new transformations, new energies and new ways of doing things. We have become, in some sense, closer to the suffering Christ. We have become more conscious of staying connected as one community. We have become more mindful of others in need. We have become more creative in our ways of interacting, new ways of expressing solidarity, new ways of praying together, new ways of confronting our common enemies, and new lenses to see the horizon of hope.

Rather than just see the downside of the pandemic, and they are very real and pressing, we are invited to see the other side of darkness and to experience the presence of the risen Lord in our midst. It is very apt then that the theme of our Ignatian Year celebration is seeing all things new in Christ.  Even in the midst of so much suffering and uncertainty, there are rays of hope. The pandemic is not just about pain and suffering. From the eyes of faith, Christ is very much present. His consoling presence is very much felt in the newness of life we are experiencing.  Ignatius had this newness of life five centuries ago.  May it stay with us these days of the pandemic and beyond. Have a blessed feast of St Ignatius!