THE ULTIMATE UNSEEN HAND BEHIND THE NEW WORLD ORDER - CHAPTER 10 – IGNATIUS LOYOLA, JESUITS, THE ILLUMINATI AND THE CREATOR
IGNATIUS LOYOLA, JESUITS, THE ILLUMINATI AND THE CREATOR
Ignatius Loyola (1495-1556), was a Roman Catholic religious leader who founded the Society of Jesus.
Members of this religious order of men are known as Jesuits. Ignatius was born into an aristocratic Basque family near Azpeitia, Spain. His real name was Inigo de Loyola.
In 1516, Ignatius became a soldier in the army of the Duke of Najera. While fighting the French at Pamplona in 1521, Ignatius suffered severe wounds. During his long period of recovery, he read a book about the life of Jesus and stories about the saints, these books convinced him that he should abandon his life of ambition and pleasure. After his recovery, he went to the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat, near Barcelona. There, he hung up his sword at the altar of the Virgin Mary and dedicated himself to a spiritual life. During much of 1522 and 1523, Ignatius lived in a cave near Manresa, where he prayed and subjected himself to many physical discomforts. During this time, he underwent mystical experiences. Ignatius drew on these experiences when he wrote Spiritual Exercises, a manual of self-discipline and prayer.
To prepare himself for the priesthood. Ignatius studied humanities and theology in Paris from 1528 to 1535. In 1534, he and six other men formed the Society of Jesus. The group took vows of poverty and chastity, the men also vowed to go to the Holy Land. Ignatius was ordained a priest in 1537. He and the other Jesuits then went to Rome to offer their services to the pope. Pope Paul III approved the Society of Jesus in 1540. Ingnatius became its first superior general (head). He also wrote the order's constitutions, which established the Jesuits' organization and way of life. Under the leadership of Ignatius, the Jesuits helped reform the church during a self-renewal movement called "The Reformation and Counter Reformation." The following information is in no way aimed at the innocent common church people that attend the Catholic Church. This information is about the behind doors activities that are active behind the outward appearance of the church.
THE REFORMATION AND COUNTER REFORMATION
Medieval Christian civilization ended with the Reformation, a religious revolution that gave birth to the Protestant religion in the 1500's. (This Protestant religion was not at all what it is today because of the continued interference and adulteration by the Catholic Church and the Jesuits). As a result of the Reformation, Europe became divided between Roman Catholic and Protestant countries. The Reformation also led the Catholic Church to reform itself in a movement called the Counter Reformation. By the early 1500's, the conditions in the church that led to the Reformation were apparent. The papacy was dominated by temporal concerns. The Roman Curia was incredibly corrupt. Many bishops lived like princes and ignored the faithful. A great number of clergymen were ignorant and neglected their pastoral duties. Members of religious orders had become worldly. Fear and superstition were common among the laity. The liturgy no longer held much meaning or inspiration for the people, and theology had generally become dry and unproductive. Many councils, popes, saints, scholars, and movements among the people had attempted to reform the church during the late Middle Ages. However, the church remained largely unreformed.
THE COUNTER REFORMATION
The Counter Reformation was the Roman Catholic Church's self-reforming reaction to the Protestant Reformation. It is usually understood as extending from about the mid-1500's to the end of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Indications of the church's move toward reform appear in the activities of three religious orders founded from 1524 to 1530: the Bamabites, Capuchins, and Theatines. Members of these orders tried to reform Catholic life through missionary and charitable work and by leading deeply religious lives.
A number of religious wars broke out during the Counter Reformation. Between 1562 and 1598, the Catholic majority in France and French Protestants called Huguenots fought eight civil wars called the Wars of Religion. The Thirty Years' War destroyed much of Germany. The war began as a civil war between Protestant and Catholics in the German states but eventually involved most European countries. The Peace of Westphalia, which ended the war in 1648, declared that the people of each state must follow the religion of their ruler. During the mid and late 1700's several nations banned the Jesuit Order from their country and colonies.