St. Ignatius and the Moor

A friend told me about this story recently, which St. Ignatius of Loyala recalled in his autobiography.

Shortly after his conversion, the ex-soldier and courtier Ignatius was riding down a dusty road in Spain in the company of a Muslim Moor.  They were discussing religion, and, not surprisingly, they disagreed on a few points.  The Moor angrily ended the discussion and rode off.  As a parting shot, he made some insulting remarks about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Ignatius was outraged.  He thought it might be his knightly duty to defend the honor of Mary by killing the Moor, but he wasn’t sure that would be consistent with his new faith. He left the decision up to the donkey he was riding.  They were approaching a crossroads.  If the donkey took the road that the Moor took, Ignatius would follow and kill him.  If the beast took the other road, he would let him go.  The donkey took the other road.

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