This month’s saint is named Ignatius, but he is not from Loyola. This Ignatius is actually from Antioch, and he was even one of the earliest disciples of the apostle John! He was captured by the Romans and sentenced to death for his unrelenting preaching of the Gospel, yet he used his sufferings for the glory of God. On the way to the Roman coliseum where he was to be killed, Ignatius wrote a series of seven letters to the early Christian communities urging them to remain faithful under persecution. Several of the things he writes help to form the understanding of the faith. In fact, he was one of the earliest Christian writers to refer to the Church using the Greek word katholikos or, as we know it today, Catholic!
Ignatius was born in present-day Syria around the year 50 and like most Christians at the time, he was a convert. Not much else is known about his early life except that he was an educated man because he knew Greek and served as a writer to assist the apostles. Along with his friend, Polycarp, he was a disciple of John the apostle and it was thought that he even helped him write some of his manuscripts. He must have met with St. Peter at some point because he was specifically appointed as the third bishop of Antioch by the bishop of Rome himself! In examining his writings, scholars even note that his thought seemed to be profoundly influenced by St. John and St. Paul. God seemed to prepare him by surrounding him with those who were strong in the faith. He would come to find out that he would need their teachings for the road ahead.
Ignatius was representative of early Christianity which was trying to reconcile now a faith that was not only for the Jews, but for the people of the world. The world at the time was Greco-Roman because of the dominance of the Roman Empire. This provided Christians with the ability to travel the roads safely to preach the Good News because the Romans kept it safe. The downside was that Rome was pagan at the time and did not tolerate a religion which did not view Caesar as the highest authority.
That was what happened under Emperor Domitian who made an edict condemning the practice of Christianity. As bishop, Ignatius was the morale and the moral for his flock as they tried to defend themselves against the tyrannical forces. Yet, they eventually lost, and Ignatius was captured. The Roman soldiers who captured him were ordered to take him back to Rome so he could be made an example of. He was not taken straight back because the Romans had official business that needed to be taken care of, so they took the lengthy path back. This gave Ignatius the opportunity to visit the local Christian communities and minister to them even while he was in chains.
Ignatius soon found out that his great foes were not those who wielded swords, but it was from those with quills. There were two groups of heretics which he fought against: the Judaizers, who rejected the New Testament and held on to ceremonial Jewish practices, and the Docetists, who believed Jesus suffered and died only in appearance. Ignatius answered them by affirming the life of Christ, specifically, His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Jesus had met the over 300 hundred prophecies in the Old Testament of the Messiah and He fulfilled the mission of God by conquering death by rising so that we can participate in eternal life with Him! This was the teaching passed down by the apostles who were there with Jesus during His ministry.
This is why the first five letters he writes to the communities in Asia Minor are to counsel the faithful to obey God by listening to their religious leaders. He stressed the importance of having a hierarchical structure because God is of order while the devil enjoys chaos. He warned that if they were not a strong spiritual family then false teachers can easily prey upon them and sow discord destroying their unity. If there was an issue regarding the Christian faith, then Ignatius instructed the laity to obey their bishop because the bishop was invested the authority to teach by the apostles who received directly from Christ Himself. If one should stray from the teachings of the bishop, they stray from union with Jesus. His sixth letter was a personal one to Polycarp, who was now the bishop of Smyrna (a Greek city in present-day Turkey) and later martyred for the faith.
Ignatius’ seventh and final was to the Christian community in Rome which he praises for maintaining their faith as the first established church and their perseverance in the heart of the Roman Empire. This was also where he describes the Church established by Jesus Christ as Catholic, meaning universal or whole, reminding his readers that they do not suffer alone. They belong to the mystical body of Christ which prays and suffers alongside them. To this point, he asks that they not interfere with his impending execution as Ignatius believed that to suffer in the name of Christ was to be in full communion with Him. Ignatius of Antioch was martyred in the Roman coliseum by lions and his death was recorded by Polycarp’s disciple, who would later become St. Irenaeus.
If you ever find yourself in need of St. Ignatius of Antioch’s intercession, here is a good prayer to ask Jesus to persevered through suffering:
“I am the wheat of God,
and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts,
that I may be found the pure bread of God.
I long after the Lord,
the Son of the true God and Father, Jesus Christ.
Him I seek, who died for us and rose again.
I am eager to die for the sake of Christ.
My love has been crucified,
and there is no fire in me that loves anything.
But there is living water springing up in me,
and it says to me inwardly:
"Come to the Father."
Amen.”
Stay awesome and blossom 🌱
By: anh Daniel
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