Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Saint Ignati us composed the book o f the Spiritual Exer cises, which Louis d e Ponte considers as it were an immediate revelation from God, and which, according to the t estimony of Saint Franc is de Sales, has converted more sinners than it contains letters; it bears the character of everything Saint Ignatius did, and is above all a religious act. It is like a guide and a light for Christian souls who seriously wish to ensure their salvation: it teaches them, in effect, to know themselves, to seek the true goal of life, to flee from sin, to attach themselves to the cross of Jesus Christ, to courageously accept pains and sacrifices, and thus, hardened and enlightened by the meditation of the great truths of the faith, to be penetrated by divine love and to abandon themselves fully to that Father who is in heaven and wishes us to be there with Him. In a word, "the book of the Spiritual Exerc ises," says Father de Ravignan, "is a retreat manual, a method of meditation, and at the same time a collection of thoughts and precepts suitable for directing the soul in the work of interior sanctification and in the choice of a state of life."