ded to leave the castle in March of 1522. Ignatius decided that he wanted to live in Jerusalem where our Lord had spent his life on earth. First, he began his journey to Barcelona. Even though he converted from his old ways, he was still lacking the spirit of charity and Christian understanding. On the way to Jerusalem Ignatius met up with a Moor and they came together on the road, both riding mules, and they began to debate religious matters. The Moor claimed that the Blessed Virgin was not a virgin in her life after Christ was born. Ignatius took this to be such an insult that he was in a dilemma as to what to do. They came to a fork in the road, and Ignatius decided that he would let circumstances direct his course of action. The Moor went down one fork. Ignatius let the reins of his mule drop. If his mule followed the Moor, he would kill him. If the mule took the other fork, he would let the Moor live. Fortunately, for the Moor, Ignatius' mule was more charitable than its rider and took the opposite fork from the Moor. He proceeded to the Benedictine shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, made a general confession, and knelt all night in vigil before Our Lady's altar, following the rites of chivalry. He left his sword and knife at the altar, went out and gave away all his fine clothes to a poor man, and dressed himself in rough clothes with sandals and a staff. Ignatius went towards Barcelona but stopped along the river Cardoner at a town called Manresa. He stayed in a cave outside the town. Ignatius planned on only staying in the cave for a few days but instead he stayed for ten months. Each day Ignatius spent hours praying and he worked in a hospice. While he was staying in the cave, he began to have ideas about The Spiritual Exercises. On the bank of the river Cardoner, he had a vision, which is the most significant part of his life. The vision was more of an enlightenment, in which he said he learned more on that o...
