+ St Ignatius of Antioch was born in the
year 50 in Syria. He was a convert from paganism to Christianity. He was
believed to be a disciple of St. John the Apostle. His apostolic letters to the
various churches in the ancient Christian world serve as a major source
regarding the life, faith, and structure of the early Church in Asia Minor and
Rome.
He was the first writer to use
the term “Catholic Church” as a collective designation for Christians, among
the first to attest to the “monoepiscopacy” or the governance of a diocese by
one bishop. He became the bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Peter the Apostle.
He served during the persecution of Domatian. But during the persecution of
Trajan he was ordered to be taken to Rome to be killed by wild animals. On his
way there, which took months, he wrote letters to the churches stressing the
divinity and humanity of Jesus, his bodily death and resurrection, the central
importance of the Eucharist and the bishop for church unity, and the special
reverence owed to the church of Rome as the one founded by Peter and Paul.
Ignatius died in 107 and his relics are in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
St.
Ignatius considered himself as wheat
that must be ground in order to make something useful – corresponding with
Jesus imperative in the gospel passage. It is when the disciple of Christ – in
imitation of his master – falls to the
earth and dies, that something beautiful, useful and salvific can result.
For Jesus it meant resurrection to a newness of life, the fullness and
completion of human life, and likewise for his faithful followers – including
St. Ignatius of Antioch.
May
we strain for the prize of everlasting
glory and resurrected life with God – who so eagerly wants to
share them with us. We must live the life prescribed by Jesus – come what may –
and it will be so for us!
Blessed
is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will
receive the crown of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment