Ignatius of Loyola > Quotes

“Go forth and set the world on fire.”
― St. Ignatius Loyola

“Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God.”
― Saint Ignatius of Loyola

“Love is shown more in deeds than in words.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“To give, and not to count the cost
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God's purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven.
All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.
As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“Laugh and grow strong”
― Ignatius of Loyola

“If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“O my God, teach me to be generous
to serve you as you deserve to be served
to give without counting the cost
to fight without fear of being wounded
to work without seeking rest
and to spend myself without expecting any reward
but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will.
Amen”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“Lord, teach me to be generous;
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest;
To labor, and not to ask for reward -
except to know that I am doing your will.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“Teach us to give and not to count the cost.”
― Ignatius of Loyola

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.”
― St. Ignatius Loyola

“If our church is not marked by caring for the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.”
― Ignatius of Loyola

“[L]ove ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than in words.... love consists in a mutual sharing of goods, for example, the lover gives and shares with the beloved what he possesses, or something of that which he has or is able to give; and vice versa, the beloved shares with the lover. Hence, if one has knowledge, he shares it with the one who does not possess it; and so also if one has honors, or riches. Thus, one always gives to the other.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“For it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“O my God, teach me to be generous,
teach me to serve you as I should,
to give without counting the cost,
to fight without fear of being wounded,
to work without seeking rest,
to labour without expecting any reward,
but the knowledge that I am doing your most holy will.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“What seems to me white, I will believe black if the hierarchical Church so defines.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“Try to keep your soul always in peace and quiet, always ready for whatever our lord may wish to work in you. it is certainly a higher virtue of the soul, and a greater grace, to be able to enjoy the Lord in different times and different places than in only one.”
― Saint Ignatius

“If God causes you to suffer much it is a sign that He has great designs for you and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

“It is dangerous to make everybody go forward by the same road: and worse to measure others by oneself.”
― Saint Ignatius (of Loyola)

“My birth is imminent. Forgive me, brethren. Do not prevent me from coming to life.

– As he faced the prospect of being devoured by wild beasts for his faith”
― St. Ignatius

“He learned by experience that one train of thought left him sad, the other joyful. This was his first reasoning on spiritual matters.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Autobiography of St. Ignatius

“Ite, inflammate omnia.”
― Ignatius of Loyola

“For though, outside the Exercises, we can lawfully and with merit influence every one who is probably fit to choose continence, virginity, the religious life and all manner of evangelical perfection, still in the Spiritual Exercises, when seeking the Divine Will, it is more fitting and much better, that the Creator and Lord Himself should communicate Himself to His devout soul, inflaming it with His love and praise, and disposing it for the way in which it will be better able to serve Him in future. So, he who is giving the Exercises should not turn or incline to one side or the other, but standing in the centre like a balance, leave the Creator to act immediately with the creature, and the creature with its Creator and Lord.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“In the course of the conversation mention was made of the Blessed Virgin. The stranger remarked that though he admitted that the Mother of Christ had conceived without detriment to her virginal purity, yet he could not believe that after the conception of her divine Son she was still a virgin. He was so obstinate in holding this opinion, that no amount of reasoning on the part of Ignatius could force him to abandon it. Shortly afterward the Saracen rode on, leaving the pilgrim to his own reflections. These were not of the most peaceful nature. He was sorely troubled as he thought over the conduct of his recent fellow-traveler, and felt that he had but poorly acquitted himself of his duty of honoring the Mother of God. The longer his mind thought upon the matter, the more his soul was filled with indignation against himself for having allowed the Saracen to speak as he had done of the Blessed Virgin, and for the lack of courage he fancied he had shown in not at once resenting the insult. He consequently felt impelled by a strong impulse to hasten after him and slay the miscreant for the insulting language he had used.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Autobiography of St. Ignatius

“Consideremos el sermón que Cristo nuestro Señor hace a todos sus siervos y amigos, encomendándoles que a todos quieran ayudar en traerlos, primero a suma pobreza espiritual y, si su divina majestad fuere servida y los quisiere eligir no menos a la pobreza actual; segundo, a deseo de oprobios y menosprecios, porque destas dos cosas se sigue la humildad. De manera que sean tres escalones: el primero, pobreza contra riqueza; el segundo, oprobio o menosprecio contra el honor mundano; el tercero, humildad contra la soberbia; y destos tres escalones induzgan a todas las otras virtudes.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“En toda buena elección, en cuanto es de nuestra parte, el ojo de nuestra intención debe ser simple, solamente mirando para lo que soy criado, es a saber, para alabanza de Dios nuestro Señor y salvación de mi ánima, y así, cualquier cosa que yo eligiere debe ser a que me ayude para al fin para que soy criado, no ordenando ni trayendo el fin al medio, mas el medio al fin. Porque primero hemos de poner por obyecto querer servir a Dios, que es el fin, y secundario tomar beneficio o casarme, si más me conviene, que es el medio para el fin; así ninguna cosa me debe mover a tomar los tales medios o a privarme dellos, sino sólo el servicio y alabanza de Dios nuestro Señor y salud eterna de mi ánima.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“El primer punto. Es necesario que todas cosas de las cuales queremos hacer elección sean indiferentes o buenas en sí, y que militen dentro de la santa madre Iglesia jerárquica, y no malas ni repugnantes a ella. Segundo. Hay unas cosas que caen debajo de elección inmutable, así como son sacerdocio, matrimonio, etc.; hay otras que caen debajo de elección mutable, así como son tomar beneficios o dejarlos, tomar bienes temporales o lanzallos. Tercero. En la elección inmutable, que ya una vez se ha hecho elección, no hay más que eligir, porque no se puede desatar; así como es matrimonio, sacerdocio, etc. Sólo es de mirar que, si no ha hecho elección debida y ordenadamente sin afecciones desordenadas, arrepintiéndose, procure hacer buena vida en su elección.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“Up to his twenty-sixth year the heart of Ignatius was enthralled by the vanities of the world. His special delight was in the military life, and he seemed led by a strong and empty desire of gaining for himself a great name.”
― Ignatius of Loyola, The Autobiography of St. Ignatius