Friends of the Rosary,
Today, July 31st, we honor Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) as the saint of the day, a Spanish Basque soldier, mystic, and priest who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and wrote The Spiritual Exercises.
In the year 1521, at the siege of Pampeluna, a cannonball fractured the left leg of Captain Ignatius Loyola, the future founder of the Jesuits. While he was convalescing, Ignatius read about Christ and His saints and thus turned wholly to God. He went to Montserrat, and hung up his arms before the altar of the Blessed Virgin, entering upon his knighthood in the army of Christ. He then equipped himself for Christ's service by acquiring a good classical and theological education.
God favored and refreshed him with such wonderful spiritual lights. He patiently endured sufferings and insults in every place, undergoing the hardest trials, even imprisonment and beatings almost to death. But he ever desired to suffer far more for the glory of his Lord.
At Paris he was joined by nine companions from that University, men of different nations, who had taken their degrees in Arts and Theology; and there at Montmartre he laid the first foundations of the order. Among them, St. Francis Xavier was sent to preach the Gospel in the Indies. He dispersed others of his children to spread the Christian faith in other parts of the world, thus declaring war against paganism, superstition, and heresy.
God raised up Ignatius and the Society of Jesus to oppose Luther and the heretics of his time, as formerly he had raised up other holy men to oppose other heretics.
The members of the Society of Jesus became the shock troops of the Church in the battle against the spread of Protestantism in Europe, as well as one of the greatest foreign mission organizations that the world has known.
Ignatius everywhere opened schools for the education of youth in piety and letters. St. Philip Neri and others saw his countenance shining with heavenly light. And his power over the demons was wonderful.
Ignatius died on July 31, 1556, at the age of sixty-five.
Since then, St. Ignatius is celebrated for miracles and for his great services to the Church.
In today's Gospel (Matthew 13:54-58), Jesus returns to His native place, and the people are astonished by His wisdom. But instead of receiving Him, they reduce Him to what they already know: “Is he not the carpenter’s son?” Familiarity closes their hearts. They cannot accept that God is working through someone so close, so ordinary, so known to them.
That is a warning for us. God may speak through ordinary people, ordinary duties, ordinary prayers, and ordinary moments. If we only expect God in dramatic signs, we may miss Him when He comes quietly.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola fits beautifully with today’s message. His life was reshaped by God after injury, ambition, and conversion. He learned to discern God’s voice, to seek God’s will, and to find God in all things.
Let's listen when God corrects us. Do not reject truth because it is uncomfortable or because it comes through someone familiar. Ask for a humble heart that can recognize God’s voice and follow His will.
Like Saint Ignatius, help us seek Divine Will in all things and follow the Lord with courage.
Ave Maria!
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Please give us the grace to respond with joy!
+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York
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• July 31, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET
