St Ignatius Parish

St Ignatius 27 July 2008

We gather in the name of Ignatius of Loyola, remembering the man himself, his life, his journey, and the way he was able to inspire others to give themselves entirely to the service of God and neighbour. We might recall that he came from a background where life at court was well known, a small man in stature but great in ambition. Among his desires was a great desire to be considered desirable by the women at court. The shattered knee became the great turning point for him in his life. Inspired by the lives of saints, he called on his competitive nature and determined to do as much. There are defining moments at Manresa, on the bank of the river Cardoner, where he began what we now know as the Spiritual Exercises, a journey which took him into the very heart of God, and through which he discovered deep within other desires, and an ability to form deep companionship with others, and together make a different journey.

But as we celebrate and remember Ignatius, we also celebrate who we are, a community gathered in his name, and call up our own life-stories, confront them with that of Ignatius, and acknowledge that somehow we bring meaning and focus to a fragmented world.

Our story here begins in 1869. The first Jesuits who eventually settled in Sevenhill in 1851, had a dream of creating at Sevenhill a second Rome, hence the name. The little creek that sometimes runs with wine between the house and the vineyard is called the Tiber. The dream was to build a parish, a college, a university. But 1851 gold rush in eastern colonies put an end to all that. 1869 (140 years next year) they came to Norwood, and since then our parish has been a place of discernment and discovery of God's will for many people.

So today we celebrate who we are, a community gathered in name of Ignatius, presenting a living narrative with our own life-stories, as they somehow find harmony with the will of God. We celebrate our parish, a community of faith, with our own way of living now, with our own initiatives, to endeavour to make a difference to the world we live in.

We have the second oldest St V de Paul conference in South Australia, and over the years have helped many to find a bit more dignity in their lives.

More recently the Refugee Support has helped so many with a little education so that they could settle more happily in this land, and come to terms with the trauma of their previous lives.

The Norwood Companions are breaking fresh ground, to provide companionship to those who otherwise would be lonely and feel abandoned.

With our contributions we have been able to help other communities to have fresh water, some others to have access to education, others still a help in rebuilding their lives after Tsunami and earthquake, enhancing service to others. This is part of our intimate feeling and tasting of the presence and activity of God in our world. If today we enjoy lunch together, we owe it to the dedication of the social committee who work behind the scene, to enable us to enjoy each other's company more.

Recently we hosted young people from Magis & World Youth day. They constantly remarked on how they were made to feel welcome, saying they had never experienced hospitality like it anywhere.

Others make sure that the Liturgy is well planned, that music is well prepared, that the church is cleaned, that bills are paid, the fabric of the buildings is taken care of - all at the service of the community which gathers here in faith.

The Spirituality centre was formed, acknowledging that journey which Ignatius himself made at Manresa, that in all humility we can, in some small way, make a difference in our world, and offer some support and direction for a journey to the heart of God.

Each group discovers a sense of companionship in working together. In Decree 2, the documents of our recent General Congregation points out that “Our lives must provoke the question, “who are you, that you do these things, and that your do them in this way?” It's a good question for us today as we gather to celebrate. We ponder the continuing story in this spirit of Ignatius, and acknowledge that we help to shape our world, that it is our mission to bring a sense of the Spirit of God to a world which increasingly seems to chase other shadows.