Hello all, Happy feast day to all born, baptized and married today Happy feast day to all Deacons, Seminarians, Priests, Bishops, Monks, Nuns, Religious Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus. Happy feast day to all named Ignatius and parents of all those named Ignatius Happy feast day to all Catholic Missionaries Happy feast day to all Martyrs Today, October 17 marks the liturgical memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch He is also known as Theophorus meaning (God Bearer) Catholic History tells us that Saint Ignatius was born c. 35 He was among the Apostolic Fathers He was the third Catholic Bishop of Antioch He was a student of Saint John the Apostle also known as Saint John the Evangelist Catholic tradition says “Saint Ignatius” was one of the children Jesus took in His arms and blessed during one of his many sermons Saint Ignatius of Antioch, is one of the Apostolic Fathers (the earliest authoritative group of the Church Fathers). Saint Ignatius based his authority on being a bishop of the Church, living his life in the imitation of Christ. It is believed that Saint Ignatius, along with his friend Saint Polycarp, with great probability were disciples of the Apostle, Saint John. Saint Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology Important topics addressed in these letters of Saint Ignatius include ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role of bishops. Saint Ignatius was Bishop of Antioch after Saint Peter and Saint Evodius (who died around AD 67) The Catholic Tradition records that Saint Ignatius succeeded Saint Evodius. Making his apostolic succession even more immediate It is reported that Saint Peter himself appointed Saint Ignatius to the Catholic see of Antioch. The seven letters of “Saint Ignatius of Antioch” considered authentic are: • His letter to the Ephesians • His letter to the Magnesians • His letter to the Trallians • His letter to the Romans • His letter to the Philadelphians • His letter to the Smyrnaeans • His letter to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna ------------------------- In some of his many letters Saint Ignatius of Antioch tells: “From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated”. “Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and with the presbyters (priests) in the place of the council of the apostles, and with the deacons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest” -------------------------- Saint Ignatius is known to have taught the deity of Christ: “There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible, he is Jesus Christ our Lord. Saint Ignatius stressed the value of the Eucharist, calling it a medicine of immortality Saint Ignatius had a very strong desire for bloody martyrdom in the arena, he regarded salvation as one being free from the powerful fear of death and thus to bravely face martyrdom Saint Ignatius is also responsible for the first known use of the Greek word katholikos (καθολικός), meaning universal, complete and whole to describe the church, writing: “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful to baptize or give communion without the consent of the bishop. On the other hand, whatever has his approval is pleasing to God. Thus, whatever is done will be safe and valid.. -- Saint Ignatius ------------------------------------ It is from the word katholikos (according to the whole) that the word CATHOLIC comes. When Saint Ignatius wrote the Letter to the Smyrnaeans in about the year 107 and used the word Catholic, he used it as if it were a word already in use to describe the Church. This has led many scholars to conclude that the appellation Catholic Church with its ecclesial connotation may have been in use as early as the last quarter of the 1st century. --------------------------------------- On the Holy Eucharist, Saint Ignatius wrote in his letter to the Smyrnaeans: “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes”…. Saint Ignatiuss most famous quotation, however, comes from his letter to the Romans: “I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for Gods sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am Gods wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ. — Letter to the Romans --------------------------------------------- The letters of Saint Ignatius of Antioch—one of the Church’s earliest and most famous martyrs—glow with an otherworldly light and joy. “Heartiest greetings of pure joy in Jesus Christ from Ignatius,” begins his first letter to the church at Ephesus. “Out of the fullness of God the Father you have been blessed with large numbers and are predestined from eternity to enjoy forever continual and unfading glory.” Ignatius was on his way to a grisly death in the amphitheater at Rome (sometime in the late 1st century or early 2nd century). He was thrown to “wild beasts”—what we can presume were lions or their like—who “devoured” his body, leaving only the “harder portions,” according to a traditional account of his martyrdom. Ignatius was well aware of what kind of death he faced. He famously described it this way in his letter to the Romans: I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body. … May I enjoy the wild beasts that are prepared for me; and I pray they may be found eager to rush upon me. These are not the words of a man who is resigned to a harsh fate, who has accepted his duty with a steely determination. There is no sense of lamentation. His letters are not mournful farewells. Was he a madman? If so, Ignatius was surely one of the strangest in history: he is consumed not with hate, but love. Was he delusional? A most bloody and painful bout with the beasts is in store for him and his earthly life will most assuredly come to an end as a result. Certainly, he seems under no illusions about that. How to explain Saint Ignatius of Antioch? Put simply, he was not of this world. “‘I would rather die,’ and get to Jesus Christ, than reign over the ends of the earth,” he tells the Romans. “I am going through the pangs of being born.” While not of this world, Ignatius’ faith was firmly grounded in the truth of God’s presence in this world. Far from imaginative flights of fancy to a life hereafter, his letters evoke a spiritual vision that is centered on Christ and the cross. “For I detected that you were fitted out with an unshakable faith, being nailed, as it were, body and soul to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and being rooted in love by the blood of Christ,” he writes to the Smyrnaeans. Ignatius is insistent on the concrete reality of the Incarnation and the cross. --------------------------- Ignatius tells us: Regarding our Lord, you are absolutely convinced that on the human side he was actually sprung from David’s line, Son of God according to God’s will and power, actually born of a virgin, baptized by John … and actually crucified for us in the flesh. … And he genuinely suffered, as even he genuinely raised himself. It is not as some unbelievers say, that his Passion was a sham. It’s they who are a sham! Yes and their fate will fit their fancies—they will be ghosts and apparitions. For Ignatius, everything it seems, relates back to the cross. In the span of a few short sentences in his letter to the Ephesians he explains his understanding of the Church, the Trinity, and the theological virtues all in terms of the Cross: Like stones of God’s Temple, ready for a building of God the Father, you are being hoisted up by Jesus Christ, as with a crane (that’s the cross!), while the rope you use is the Holy Spirit. Your faith is what lifts you up, while love is the way you ascend to God. His commitment to Christ and the cross led to lively faith in the Eucharist. In his letter to the Ephesians, he calls the Eucharist the “medicine of immortality” and the “antidote” to death. And, in his letter to the Smyrnaeans, he scolds heretics and unbelievers who do not share this belief: “They hold aloof from the Eucharist and from services of prayer, because they refuse to admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.” He even describes his impending martyrdom in vivid Eucharist language: he likens himself to the “wheat of God” who will be ground by the jaws of the beasts into the “pure bread of Christ”. Saint Ignatius’ letters leap with the irrepressible joy of one who lived in that first generation of Christians, witnesses to a new dawn in history. Two thousand years have elapsed, yet his letters have lost none of their luster, his words still burn with a heavenly love. As In Saint John Chrysostom, already several centuries later, put it in his homily on the martyr, Ignatius was a “soul which despised all things present, glowed with Divine love, and valued things unseen before the things which are seen.” May we all heed Saint John Chrysostom’s advice: “Not only today, therefore, but every day let us go forth to him, plucking spiritual fruits from him.” Saint Ignatius of Antioch was sentenced to die in the Colosseum, to be eaten by lions He was martyred in Rome in the year 108 ------------------------------------- Let us Pray (Oremus) God of mercy, hear the prayers of your people that we may be helped by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, whose martyrdom we celebrate with joy. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. ------------------------------------- Let us pray that by the works, spiritual direction, spiritual maturity, martyrdom and intercession of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, we may in this group find the spiritual motivation to win our souls for God. Amen Brief summary of the life history of Saint Ignatius of Antioch can be viewed by clicking the photo of the Martyr in our groups photo section. Saint of the day would be communicated to you as promptly and consistently as humanly possible, by Gods grace. May we all in this group and beyond this group, Christians and non Christians alike, Catholics and non Catholics alike, be saved from the fires of hell and lifted up into heaven after our stay here on this exile. Amen May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Saint Ignatius of Antioch and other Saints and martyrs before and after him and through Gods Divine Mercy strengthen our souls, open out the way for us all, and above all, intoxicate us with HIS love. Amen May Christ make us into blazing fires to enkindle the earth with the heavenly fire HE brought us. Amen. Jesus we love you, all we have is yours, yours we are and yours we want to be, please do with us whatever you will. Amen Jesus, Mary we love you, please save our souls. Amen God bless you and grant your heart’s desire. Amen Saint Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us. Amen. For a brief on our Saint of today, please click the link below: https://youtube/watch?v=cxmQPPq9Nck
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 06:51:33 +0000
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