Let your kindness and love pour onto me,

When I write about your life

Thee, who foundest the ‘Society of Jesus’

And altered yours and millions’ fate

Millions of smiles echoed in ‘1539’ and billions till this date.

Armed in your armour,

You joined the army at seventeen,

Far could you foresee, occasions umpteen.

With desire for fame, deep in your heart

Least did you know, that was to start.

Armed with a dagger and a sword

In your precious prime, you began to plod,

Least did you know, the road

Chosen for you, by Jesus, the Lord.

‘He’ held you safe whilst you’re hit by a cannonball,

It was the beginning of a rise and the end of a fall.

You lay in Loyola Castle with each breath in pain,

‘He’ sat unnoticed by your side, caressing you in Spain.

You began your quest, in your period of recuperation,

You left of the romances of chivalry,

And, read of the divine and HIS HOLY NATION.

Your limping leg undertook a peregrination-

To the land so holy- that people talked

And kissed the Earth where our Lord had walked.

Gave up dearly, what adorned you dearly,

Your sword and dagger at Virgin’s altar

Your fine clothes to the poor in encounter

Yourself put on a garment of sack

Withal walked to Manresa, plainly clad.

Lo! Loyola of the royal castle,

Did daily chores at the hospital,

Begged for your daily bread,

In faith, without a tinge of dread.

Your eves to pray in a nearby cave,

Thus, you envisioned the visions ‘He’ gave.

Confessions, contemplations and meditations,

The crib of nativity and the gospel story,

You began to live ‘all in His glory’.

I read of the motto ‘perinde ac cadaver’ that you left

‘disciplined like a carcass should a Jesuit be’

Your words have been a treasure chest,

To help a Jesuit live his quest.

Millions of lights light, when’er to me the tale is told,

It sparks my spirit afresh, and for me, never turns old.

O Dear Saint,

I demand no shelter, when my hand you hold,

For, You bestow in me, faith untold.

I’ve learnt to-

Live and die, do and do for anybody at odd,

Cause whatever we do-

‘WE DO FOR THE GREATER GLORY OF GOD’…

Poem written by Mamta Yadav, St. Xavier’s School, Nevta, India