Lourdes on St. Ignatius' Day.

For the second year in a row, I'm spending St. Ignatius' Day at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Having spent two fine weeks here as a confessor last summer, I decided to repeat the experience. Among other things, this means celebrating today's feast in relative isolation. Last year, I marked St. Ignatius' Day in Lourdes by dining in a local pizzeria with a Jesuit scholastic who happened to be working as a volunteer at the sanctuary during the same weeks that I served as a confessor. This year I'm the only Jesuit around, so I'll be celebrating the feast a bit more quietly, though I do expect to go out for drinks later tonight with some French diocesan priests whom I've gotten to know here. Spending the feast of the Jesuit founder far from other Jesuits lends itself to a certain introspection, as I ponder again the mystery of the Jesuit vocation and its particular exigences. My good wishes go to all who celebrate this feast, and to all who read these lines. AMDG.