October 14, 2026

Fr. John Riccardo

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

I have long been inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits. Though he was baptized a Catholic, he was hardly a disciple of Jesus growing up. Instead, Ignatius, whose given name was Inigo, was a proud and vain man, eager not only to win renown for himself but in order to win the attention and affection of the ladies.

On May 20, 1521, Ignatius was very badly injured when fighting in the Battle of Pamplona. A cannonball struck his legs, breaking one and severely injuring the other. While recovering from very painful surgeries back at his father’s estate, he asked for books to be brought to him to help pass the time. He had wanted books about the lives and deeds of those whom he considered to be the great men of his day and of history, but instead he was brought a life of Jesus and various books about the saints. Reading about Jesus, and true heroes like Dominic and Francis, Ignatius began to recognize what true greatness looked like; he was wondrously transformed from pride and vain glory into a magnanimous soldier for Jesus, eager only to live for the greater glory of God.

In describing that time of recovery, Ignatius came to a gradual realization that reflecting on worldly thoughts filled him with a burst of intense pleasure, but it left him feeling dry and depressed. In contrast, reading the lives of the saints, and thinking about imitating them filled him not only at the moment with deep pleasure but left him feeling great joy long afterwards.

That experience of Ignatius comes to mind for me this week as we prepare to celebrate World Mission Sunday. We in ACTS XXIX have had several impactful weekends back to back. Two weeks ago we were blessed to host 1000 people for The Jesus Conference: Mobilizing the Church for the World He Loves, and last weekend we were fortunate to be with Bishop Cozzens and about 1000 people from the Diocese of Crookston for what we call Rescue Live, a glorious day filled with the proclamation of the Gospel, worship, food and fellowship. Both events had Jesus front and center, obviously, but also the example and the inspiration of the saints.

Too often, I think, we imagine the saints to be statues or stained glass windows, and forget that they were men and women with pasts, some of which make some of us blush, and others of us feel downright, well, hopeful! Dorothy Day had an abortion, Mary of Egypt was addicted to sexual pleasure, Paul murdered people, Bartolo Longo had been a satanic priest. But look what God did in and through them! These men and women, and countless more who make up the great cloud of witnesses that surround us, like Ignatius, encountered Jesus, realized what God the Father had done for them and the entire human race through Him, and then enlisted in what we in ACTS XXIX call “the resistance.” That’s one way to understand the Church: she is a resistance movement. The challenge, of course, with language like that, is we have to remember who is — and who is not — the enemy. Our one and only enemy is the devil and his minions, and the “weapons” we employ in this resistance movement are truth, goodness, beauty, character, mercy, forgiveness, the proclamation of the Gospel and things of that sort.

Finally, we must continually hold in front of our minds the mission we are called to in this movement, which is why as we inch nearer to the celebration of World Mission Sunday, this is all on my mind. That mission is the grandest, most noble, most ambitious, most worthy, of all missions. It’s nothing less than this: to rescue, renew and transform the entire human family into the family of God.

Let us ask the intercession of St. Ignatius, Mary of Egypt, Francis, Dominic and whoever in the great cloud of witnesses most inspires us, to encounter King Jesus ever more profoundly, and then to ask Him how He is asking us to do in our day what they did in theirs.

Since We Are Surrounded By a Great Cloud of Witnesses!

Thank You!