Today we celebrate the feast of a great saint - St. Ignatius of Antioch. He was born in Syria shortly after the death of Christ, and thus grew up in the first months and years of Christianity. His major contribution to Church history was the letters he wrote to the various churches of the ancient Christian world. They now serve as major sources of information regarding the life, faith and structure of the early Church in Asia Minor and Rome. He was also the first writer to use the term “Catholic Church” as a collective designation for Christians, and among the first to attest to the idea of having one bishop governing a diocese.
He became Bishop of Antioch in 69 and was condemned to death during Trajan’s persecution of Christians. He was led to the lions in the coliseum and died almost instantly. His own desire was to become “the wheat of God to be grounded by the teeth of wild beasts to become pure bread.” He believed that his own discipleship was grounded in his imitation of the sufferings of Christ. For that reason he welcomed martyrdom.
Our first reading today reminds us all - as it reminded Ignatius - that our true and lasting citizenship is in heaven - that death is nothing to be feared - that the power of Christ to transform our lowly bodies is not only a reality, but is available to all of us because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
The gospel passage reflects Ignatius’ own identification with the wheat of God. In this case, “the grain of wheat must fall to the earth and die so that it can produce much fruit!” Ignatius fell to the earth in the coliseum so to become one of the stars in the heavens - a favored disciple of Christ who received the crown of martyrdom - and who can now intercede for us to stay the course and also receive the crown of life!
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