St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Ignatius of Antioch
Feastday: October 17
In 107, during the reign of the brutal Emperor Trajan, this holy Bishop was wrongfully sentenced to death because he refused to renounce the Christian faith. He was taken under guard to Rome where he was to be brutally devoured by wild beasts in a public spectacle.
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"I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire."
In 107, during the reign of the brutal Emperor Trajan, this holy Bishop was wrongfully sentenced to death because he refused to renounce the Christian faith. He was taken under guard to Rome where he was to be brutally devoured by wild beasts in a public spectacle.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - The second Bishop of Antioch, Syria, this disciple of the beloved Disciple John was consecrated Bishop around the year 69 by the Apostle Peter, the first Pope. A holy man who was deeply loved by the Christian faithful, he always made it his special care to defend “orthodoxy” (right teaching) and “orthopraxy” (right practice) among the early Christians.
In 107, during the reign of the brutal Emperor Trajan, this holy Bishop was wrongfully sentenced to death because he refused to renounce the Christian faith. He was taken under guard to Rome where he was to be brutally devoured by wild beasts in a public spectacle. During his journey, his travels took him through Asia Minor and Greece. He made good use of the time by writing seven letters of encouragement, instruction and inspiration to the Christians in those communities. We still have these letters as a great treasure of the Church today.
The content of the letters addressed the hierarchy and structure of the Church as well as the content of the orthodox Christian faith. It was Bishop Ignatius who first used the term “catholic” to describe the whole Church. These letters connect us to the early Church and the unbroken, clear teaching of the Apostles which was given to them directly by Jesus Christ. They also reveal the holiness of a man of God who became himself a living letter of Christ. The shedding his blood in the witness of holy martyrdom was the culmination of a life lived conformed to Jesus Christ. Ignatius sought to offer himself, in Christ, for the sake of the Church which he loved. His holy martyrdom occurred in the year 107.
In his pastoral letters he regularly thanked his brother and sister Christians for their concern for his well being but insisted on following through in his final witness of fidelity: "I know what is to my advantage. At last I am becom¬ing his disciple. 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."
Bishop Ignatius was not afraid of death. He knew that it had been defeated by the Master. He followed the Lord Jesus into his Passion, knowing that he would rise with Him in his Resurrection. He wrote to the disciples in Rome: "Permit me to imitate my suffering God ... I am God's wheat and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” The beauty of this Eucharistic symbolism in these words reflects the deep theology of a mystic. He was dedicated to defending the true teaching handed down by the Apostles so that the brothers and sisters in the early Christian communities, and we who stand on their shoulders, would never be led astray by false teaching. He urged them to always listen to their Bishops because they were the successors of the Apostles. He died a Martyrs death in Rome, devoured by two lions in one of the cruel demonstrations of Roman excess and animosity toward the true faith. Anticipating this event he wrote these inspired words:
A letter to the Romans by St Ignatius of Antioch
“I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals. I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.
The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathize with me because you will know what urges me on.
The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you – still - my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.
I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favour, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I will take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you wish me harm.”
In 107, during the reign of the brutal Emperor Trajan, this holy Bishop was wrongfully sentenced to death because he refused to renounce the Christian faith. He was taken under guard to Rome where he was to be brutally devoured by wild beasts in a public spectacle. During his journey, his travels took him through Asia Minor and Greece. He made good use of the time by writing seven letters of encouragement, instruction and inspiration to the Christians in those communities. We still have these letters as a great treasure of the Church today.
The content of the letters addressed the hierarchy and structure of the Church as well as the content of the orthodox Christian faith. It was Bishop Ignatius who first used the term “catholic” to describe the whole Church. These letters connect us to the early Church and the unbroken, clear teaching of the Apostles which was given to them directly by Jesus Christ. They also reveal the holiness of a man of God who became himself a living letter of Christ. The shedding his blood in the witness of holy martyrdom was the culmination of a life lived conformed to Jesus Christ. Ignatius sought to offer himself, in Christ, for the sake of the Church which he loved. His holy martyrdom occurred in the year 107.
In his pastoral letters he regularly thanked his brother and sister Christians for their concern for his well being but insisted on following through in his final witness of fidelity: "I know what is to my advantage. At last I am becom¬ing his disciple. 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."
Bishop Ignatius was not afraid of death. He knew that it had been defeated by the Master. He followed the Lord Jesus into his Passion, knowing that he would rise with Him in his Resurrection. He wrote to the disciples in Rome: "Permit me to imitate my suffering God ... I am God's wheat and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” The beauty of this Eucharistic symbolism in these words reflects the deep theology of a mystic. He was dedicated to defending the true teaching handed down by the Apostles so that the brothers and sisters in the early Christian communities, and we who stand on their shoulders, would never be led astray by false teaching. He urged them to always listen to their Bishops because they were the successors of the Apostles. He died a Martyrs death in Rome, devoured by two lions in one of the cruel demonstrations of Roman excess and animosity toward the true faith. Anticipating this event he wrote these inspired words:
A letter to the Romans by St Ignatius of Antioch
“I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals. I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.
The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathize with me because you will know what urges me on.
The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you – still - my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.
I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favour, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I will take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you wish me harm.”
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I was listening to some discussants on ewtn and one of them mentioned St Ignatius and said he had profound love for Christ. I quickly googled him and I was moved by his great love for Jesus which made him to love death and embrace it fearlessly as a means to take him to his beloved. May St Ignatius intercede for the. conversion of my husband. Amen
I am a priest in the Orthodox Church.Iam a proffessor in Syriac ,Catholicate College.Pathanamthitta, Kerala ,India.
Iam verymuch been impressed .St. Ignatius, Pray for me a sinner.
I had been praying to St. Ignatius for my brother's conversion for about 1 year - didn't know much about this Saint before but it is my brother's choice of saint for his baptism. I just got a news about my brother today that I'd been praying for. It is truly a miracle! I'm reading the article again and it's amazing to discover that St. Ignatius was the first person to use the word catholic! Thank you for continuing to protect my brother, St. Ignatius.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Great martyr of the Catholic faith, please pray for me, to guard myself from evil intertions that pester me often.
Oh Saint Ignatius of Antioch may you pray for us to have a great courage like you had in proclaiming the word of God.
Sebald Mteteleka from Tanzania sebald_xp@yahoo.com
understanding of the life of st ignatius has truely awaken live desires in me to serve God and persevere when suffering comes, Pls intercede for me st ignatiuunderstanding of the life of st ignatius has truely awaken live desires in me to serve God and persevere when suffering comes, Pls intercede for me st ignatius.
Please pray for Jacob that he finds the righnt path, for his parents that they find the strenght and wisdom to guide him and for all cancer patients that they deal with their disease with grace and dignity. Thank you.
Thank you, God, for the Witness of this holy Saint. May he continue to strengthen the Church Militant in our journey to Eternity. To all those who are trying to tell us the Catholic Church is a Denomination, I say. This is The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church built by Jesus Christ as the Spiritual Head and which He built upon Saint Peter ( and his Successors) as the Visible Head and which He declared will never be overcome by the powers of Hell, whether from within or from without. WE ARE NOT A DENOMINATION. WE ARE THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST + Laudetur Iesus Christus +
St.Ignatius of Antioch!.,please pray for me and for my Children and family to lead a life of dedication You are remembered for ever in the church as you introduced the word "CATHOLIC" for the first time to commemorate its universal nature of the church .The martyerdom of your life for christianity has given more.strength for its strong survival.I pray for your intersession in protecting the present church from all its internal dangers.Amen
St.Ignatius.of.Antioch i cant spell the words i want 2 say about you
I pray you are with god please pray for me and my family
god bless us all
Amen
I am to be received as an Oblate soon and would like to receive the name Brother Ignatius in gratitude to St Ignatius for his loyal and fearless life and death for our Lord.
It is for me a tresure to learn in detail -- and not just a couple of lines introducing the day`s mass --this martyrdom of one of the earliest responsible men established in the Church by saint Peter himself.
I love this saint... since I knew him... mostly now... that I know his true life... love is a cross... love is just like an arrow or a sword within martyr's heart... forever thnx...!
St. Ignatius, please pray for us who are still this world. Not to fear death as you did.
Without his letters and orthodox belief, we would have a very foggy idea as to what the early church believed, and what the apostles passed on of our Lord's revelation. One of my favorite early church fathers
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr, we praise and thank God for your life which is a testament of your love for the Eucharist. May Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, be our nourishment, sustenance and food every single day. In your letter to the Romans you declared, "I am God's wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ's pure bread". Referring to Christ's death and Resurrection, you wrote, "He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire". Help us struggling Catholics all over the world have a sincere and true devotion to the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Let us always remember and celebrate Christ's death and resurrection in Holy Mass. Pray for us dear St. Ignatius of Antioch. Sanctify us and edify us. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
He was a Godly man he serve the Lord with whole heart n he sacrificed his life for Christ.....
RESPONSE TO: Jake January 20th, 2011 9:11 am
Hi Jake, I just wanted to clear two things up. I really don't believe that Januario was trying to upset or offend anyone by his remarks. Actually, even Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman once said, “To be deep in history, is to cease to be Protestant.” What is meant here by both Januario and Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman is that when one reads the Early Church Fathers and their writings, it is quite undeniable that they were Catholic and held to Catholic teachings. It's also true that some would and could stray away from the Faith and unfortunately fall into heresy, however some repented and came back to the Church. Another thing I wanted to note apart from the early Church being Catholic (the same Catholic Church of today) is that Catholicism is NOT just another "denomination" of Protestantism. Unfortunately after the rise of Protestantism in the 16th century, all sorts of various groups with various beliefs began to emerge causing a split even among Protestantism itself. I'm sure you know this but I wanted to note that Catholicism is absolutely not a "denomination" because we are not Protestant.
A very courageous man, may we follow his example in our simple lives.
RESPONSE TO:
Januario Ortega
October 17th, 2009 8:06 pm
"WOW!!! May I need to say more... This should be good enough for any protestant to convert to Catholicism."
______________
May I call you out this statement, and question what you mean. I am not Roman Catholic and I respect Ignatius of Anitoch just as much as you brother. How does being Roman Catholic make me better as a follower of Christ, or able to understand the martyrdom of Ignatius anymore? My friend, I have let God have me, and recognize the depravity of my existence as a human being with the necessity for the divinity of God in my life. What do you see in negative light about Protestantism that supersedes the negative aspects of Roman Catholicism over the year? I also understand Catholicism was all that existed until Martin Luther came along in the 1500s, and that John Wesley was not until two hundred years later as well. But you cannot deny the great men of God they were, even in their brokenness.
However, I see no reason that the valiant, brave death of a martyr, and one of many great martyrs in the first two hundred years of Christianity, would make me "convert" to a different "denomination", when Christ taught us to love God and love people. Everything else will fall under that premise. Ignatius understood the victory of death by Christ, and in that he found his courage to meet death head on.
All the same, you are my brother in Christ Januario, and I respond out of mere curiosity.
Either way, Ignatius of Antioch was a great man of God, and I will continue to study and look into his life with respect and holiness.
Blessings on you.