July 29, 2016 was a memorable event for the Sacred Heart School- Ateneo de Cebu community as members came face to face with its patron saint, Saint Ignatius de Loyola. This happened at the Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles Arena during the mass in honor of St. Ignatius de Loyola. The mass was a culmination of his feast day celebration which began during the movie screening of Ignacio de Loyola, a film directed by the school’s alumnus, Paolo Dy. The highlight of the celebration was the visit of Andreas Muñoz, who portrayed Ignacio in the film.

Other than being thrilled by the presence of Andreas Muñoz, Ignacio de Loyola, the SHS-AdC community was also inspired by the stirring homily of Fr. Jem. Fr. Jem began his homily by asking the community what the seven red bands mean in the coat of arms of the Loyola family. He said that the seven red bands (over the field of gold) represent the seven brothers of Loyola who were provided with wealth by the King of Spain for the glory and honor they gave him. This fact about St. Ignatius’ family was transformed beautifully into a meaningful life lesson as Fr. Jem weaved together the connections from the scenes in the movie Ignacio de Loyola. He explained that if the seven brothers glorify only the King of Spain for gold, they may represent the seven capital sins which everyone need to fight. He said that in order for us to fight the seven capital sins, we need the weapons of the seven C’s: Competence (to fight Laziness), Character (to fight Lust), Compassion (to fight Anger), Culture (to fight Pride), Community (to fight Envy), Conscience (to fight Gluttony), and Christ-centeredness (to fight Greed). Using his sword again, Fr. Jem demonstrated that the thousand whips of St. Ignatius at the cave of Manresa (which he did to do penance) represent the thousand blows to forge St. Ignatius’ sword. This made us realize that we, as Ateneo Hearters, may experience a thousand blows in order to forge our sword and fight the seven deadly sins. The spiritual battle may be difficult but with the seven C’s as our armor, we can eventually win the fight against evil. Fr. Jem’s homily also sends a message to everyone that God is forging us to become his sword, not to give glory to ourselves, but to give glory to Him.

The celebration continued with the oath taking of the Parent-Teacher Association officers for S.Y. 2016-2017. It commenced with the procession of the statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The director alumnus Paolo Dy encouraged and inspired the community to find God in all things and do all things for His greater glory.