In the year 70, just 35 years or so after the death and
Resurrection of our Savior, Ignatius was made the third bishop of Antioch which
today is located in Turkey. Antioch, as
we know from the Acts of the Apostles, was a flourishing Christian
community. Its first Bishop was the
Apostle Peter, before he was Bishop of Rome, and it was there that the
disciples were “for the first time called Christians”.
After serving in Antioch for over 35 years, Ignatius was
arrested during the persecution of Trajan and sentenced to death in Rome.
Ignatius was actually a direct disciple of St. John the
Apostle. And this made his letters quite
valuable to the early Church. Throughout
his letters we find teachings on the Eucharist, the primacy of the Bishop of
Rome, the role of bishops, generally, and the priesthood. These letters used to be read alongside of
the Scriptures when the early Christians gathered for Holy Mass.
To my knowledge, no Church Father has expressed the longing
for union with Christ and courage in the face of martyrdom. Ignatius wrote to the Romans: “It is better
for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ than to reign over all the ends of the
earth…Him I seek, who died for us: him I desire, who rose again for our
sake…Permit me to be an imitator of the Passion of my God!”
The Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that
“Ignatius was sent from Syria to Rome and became food for wild beasts on
account of his testimony to Christ. And
as he made the journey through Asia under the strictest military surveillance,
he fortified the parishes in the various cities where he delivered homilies and
exhortations and warned them above all to be especially on guard against the
heresies that were then beginning to prevail and exhorted them to hold fast to the
tradition of the Apostles.”
The words of Ignatius are read at Mass before Holy Communion
today, “I am the wheat of Christ to be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I
may be found to be pure bread.”
Ignatius took very seriously the words of the Gospel
today. Our Lord says, “do not be afraid
of those who kill the body.” He did not
give up the faith or compromise the faith when threatened with martyrdom. Rather, he saw martyrdom as a supreme witness
to Christ and a way of imitating Christ for the edification of the Church.
May we, likewise, long to offer our lives in union with
Christ; may our love for Him be purified of all fear and selfishness, that we
can offer to all a witness of the saving Christian faith for the glory of God
and salvation of souls.
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