Prayer: Jerome Nadal, S.J.

When Father Ignatius came to Rome with Fathers Faber and Lainez, while he was praying, Christ appeared to him in a vision carrying the cross; and as God the Father placed Ignatius with Christ in his service, he said: ‘I shall be with you’ (Ego vobiscum ero), by which we clearly meant that he chose us to be companions of Jesus. And this is a special grace granted to the Society by God. For this we must realize that, while Christ who rose from the dead dies no more, he still continues to suffer and bear his cross in his members. It is to this therefore that God the Father calls us, so that in this company we may follow Jesus, each one carrying his own cross, suffering for Christ; and we ought to find courage and comfort in this thought that we follow Christ, having been made his companions through the cross. For what else did Christ want or have in this world but labors, persecutions, and the cross for the glory of God the Father and the salvation of all of us? Let us therefore wish for the same, risking if necessary our lives for the salvation of our brothers and sisters.