‘I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them so that others may keep them.’ – Frodo before boarding ship at the Grey Havens. J.R.R.Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.
Men Vowed to the Heroic Heart of Jesus Christ
The archetypal relationship between hero and loyal friend is a lens through which the nature of the Ignatian’s vows can be understood. Poverty, sacred chastity and obedience come clearly into focus as the expression of a relationship magnetizing all the energies of a man’s heart, polarizing them, guarding them jealously, both exhausting and fulfilling them. By them Ignatians consecrate themselves to the Heroic Heart of Jesus Christ. With the freedom he receives from living out this total self-commitment to God the Ignatian priest has the wherewithal to unite himself with the heroic Christ by prolonging His mission for the salvation of souls.
To live in the midst of the world,
Without wishing its pleasures;
To be a member of each family,
Yet belonging to none;
To share all sufferings;
To penetrate all secrets;
To heal all wounds;
To go from men to God
And offer Him their Prayers;
To return from God to men
To bring pardon and hope;
To have a heart of fire for charity
And a heart of bronze for chastity;
To teach and to pardon,
Console and bless always–
What a glorious life!
And it is yours,
O Priest of Jesus Christ! (Henri Dominique Lacordaire)