When
we think of the saints in the early Church, most of them were martyrs, since
this was the time of great persecution in the Church. St Ignatius of Antioch became a bishop in
that important Syrian city in the middle of the first century. Tradition has it that Ignatius was a good
friend of John the Evangelist. Ignatius
was very loved by his flock, but he spent a great deal of time defending the
faith from a lot attacks and heresies.
Under the Roman emperor Trajan, he was condemned to death for failing to
denounce his faith. On his journey to
Rome, while traveling through Greece and Turkey, he wrote pastoral letters to
his faithful to encourage them. Those
letters survive today, treasures that speak out to us from the early Church. He
is quoted as saying: “It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian,
but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name.”
In
the Gospel, Jesus talks about how God sends prophets and martyrs that the people
kill because they do not like the message they hear, that the generation that
kills them will be charged with their blood. I always say that God gives us
blessings in our lives, that Jesus celebrates with us in our joys and in our
happy moments, but he is also there consoling us and giving us the grace to
make it through our struggles and our heartaches. We are not torn up literally like wild
animals like St Ignatius of Antioch, but we might feel as if wild animals are
nipping at our heels some days. Lord,
give us the courage to endure whatever we are going through at this moment on
our journey.
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