Readings
I - Eph. 2: 1-10
II - Lk. 12: 13-21
ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the second bishop of Antioch in Syria where the followers of Christ were first called ‘Christians’. He succeed as bishop after St. Peter, the apostle in Antioch and also was the disciple of St. John the apostle. He preserved the teaching and practices of the Church with utmost care and effort. St. Ignatius was the first to use the word “Catholic” in reference to the Church: “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” In 107, St. Ignatius was accused and sentenced to death by the brutal emperor Trajan, because he refused to renounce the Christian faith. He was taken under arrest from Antioch to Rome where he was to be devoured by the animals in the Roman amphitheater. Instead of becoming dismal in despair, St. Ignatius wrote seven letter of encouragement, inspiration and instructions to the Christians in those Communities. In the early Church, the letters of St. Ignatius was read soon after the Scripture reading because they brought encouragement and enthusiasm to live the Christian faith with heroism. St. Ignatius gladly gave up his life amidst the devouring lions as a heroic partaker in the suffering of Christ, his Lord and Master saying, “I am God’s wheat and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ”, reflecting the deep theology of a mystic.
Do not be concerned about the cares of the world like the rich fool. The saint of the day inspires us to fix our gaze on conducting our life as a testimony to the life and teachings of Christ. St. Ignatius says, “May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs-let them come to me, provided only I make my way to Jesus Christ. I would rather die and come to Jesus Christ than be king over the entire earth. Him I seek who died for us; him I love who rose again because of us”. May Christ our Lord help us to imbibe this attitude as we keep repeating for the intercession of St. Ignatius of Antioch: “St. Ignatius of Antioch, Pray for us.”
