The Saint(36)
By five o’clock she’d lost almost all the polish on her fingernails. Her hands were rough and chapped from all the scrubbing. Her back ached from sitting on the floor and bending over so much. Still the pantry did look pretty amazing when she’d finished with it. She stood in the middle of the room, admiring her work, when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Good work,” Søren said as he stood in the doorway.
“I could live in this pantry. You could eat off the floor. Or you could if we had any food in it.”
“That will be your next step. This Sunday at the end of Mass, you’ll announce a food drive.”
“I will?”
“You will.”
“In front of the entire church?”
“You have a fear of public speaking?”
“No, I don’t think so. But I’m sixteen and I’m only doing this because the court is making me. I don’t think anyone is going to listen to me.”
“They’ll listen to you. You’ll be speaking from my pulpit and with my permission and on my authority.”
“I’ll guilt-trip my heart out and their pantries.”
“Good. Now you’re done with work for the day. Let’s go into the sanctuary. We’ll start our Spiritual Exercises.”
“Spiritual Exercises? Does my soul have to do push-ups?” she asked as they entered the sanctuary.
“Can it?”
“I don’t know. Pretty sure it’s never tried.”
“The Spiritual Exercises from Saint Ignatius are something like push-ups. They were created to uplift the people doing the exercise, strengthen them and bring them closer to God.”
“So who was Saint Ignatius? I know he founded the Jesuits, but that’s all I know.”
Søren slipped a finger into his collar and pulled out a silver chain. A saint medal hung from it. Eleanor stepped close to Søren and peered at the face on the medal.
“He’s bald,” she said.
“He shaved the top of his head because he felt his hair acted as a barrier between him and God.”
“Wow. Really?”
“No.”
“Can I punch you in the arm?”
“Yes.”
Eleanor punched him in the upper arm. She hit him hard, but he didn’t seem to feel it.
“Thank you.” She shook her hand out. Did he have steel arms under his clerics? She couldn’t wait to find out. “Now are you going to tell me something real about Saint Ignatius?”
“I will tell you the two most important things you need to know about Saint Ignatius. First, he was a saint.”
“I never would have guessed.”
Søren ignored her.
“And second, of all the saints, he alone has a verifiable criminal record.”
“He does?”
“He does. As a young man, Saint Ignatius, then still Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola, was arrested for brawling. A street fight apparently. He had a hot temper, a sword and wasn’t afraid to use either.”
“Sounds so punk.”
“That would be one word for it. He was arrested and convicted. So you and the founder of my order have two things in common now. You both have police records. And you both received a second chance to do God’s will.”
Eleanor said nothing as Søren tucked the saint medal back under his collar.
“You know, no offense, but I’m not sure I believe in God.”
Søren shrugged. “Least of our worries. His existence does not depend on your belief.”
“Good news for Him, then.”
“Quite. Now let’s talk about the windows.” He swept his arm to indicate the stained-glass windows that lined each side of the sanctuary.
“Are the windows part of the Spiritual Exercises?”
“Yes and no. I’m interested right now in getting a sense of what parts of the Bible speak to you. Saint Ignatius believed images are powerful tools that lead us to discover what God intends for us.”
“You think God cares about what we want to do?”
“Of course. Desire is the most compelling of all human emotions. Desire prompts human beings to the heights of glory and drags us into the depths of Hell. Out of desire for Helen, Menelaus launched a thousand ships to win her back in a deadly war. Out of desire to save His people, Christ allowed Himself to be crucified. Desire is a God-given gift. Like any gift, we should use it to honor Him.”
“Desire is from God?”
“It is. Like any tool, it can be used for good or for evil. We’ll try to use your desire for good. Which leads me back to the question—of all these images in the windows, do any of them speak to you? And by that I mean, do any of them touch your heart or stir emotions or desires? Think about it. Study the windows. Take your time and—”