St Irenaeus was one of the first great theologians in our Catholic faith, having been born into a Greek family in Asia minor in the early 2nd century. He was friends with St Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna who was a disciples of St John the Evangelist, who himself was an important figure in the Early Church. Irenaeus was a priest Lyons in current day France, having served there during the time of the persecutions under Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. He later became Bishop of that city. Irenaeus is best known for his writings in apologetics and against the heresies of his time, especially Gnosticism. Jesus in the Gospel today has a similar message, of warning us against the false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing and who try to lure us away from the faith. Indeed, the world and many other things can lure us away from the faith. Against the dualism of Gnosticism that saw the spirit as superior and the body and matter as inferior, Irenaeus declared that the soul and body of a human being are inseparably bound together, that the soul would have no individuality or identity independent of the body. Irenaeus saw humanity as being created in God’s image, created with the capacity for relationship to God in obedience: its fulfillment is in this relationship. “The life of man is the vision of God”, declared Irenaeus. We hear of the on-going relationship between God and Abraham, with Abraham wondering how he will create a great nation if he is not able to produce a child. God fulfills that promise through his covenant with Abraham and Abraham’s obedience. As Abraham is instructed by God not to fear, may we also have confidence and faith on our journey.
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