Dreams and discernment

After his legs were set - badly - the invalid was carried on a stretcher to his native Loyola.  For eight months Iņigo languished in bed.  At his own insistence his leg was broken twice more by doctors in an attempt to correct a limp which had developed - for how could a cripple win the affections of a high born lady? This treatment brought the patient close to death, but recovery began on the feast of St Peter.

As he lay on his sickbed, Iņigo dreamt of the noble deeds he would undertake, the feats of great daring, the romance of winning the lady he admired - rumoured to be no less than the Infanta Catarina.  This daydreaming brought respite for a time to the bored convalescent, but it soon left him feeling empty and disillusioned.  Then he dreamt of doing great deeds for God, imitating the great saints like Francis and Dominic and walking barefoot to Jerusalem.  These dreams too inspired Iņigo but, unlike the dreams of romantic gallantry, they left him feeling contented and joyful.  Slowly he began to realise that joy and contentment came in the following of Christ.