St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Bishop and Martyr, is believed to have been born around the year 35 AD in Syria. He became the third Bishop of Antioch in Syria about the year 69 (only about 40 years after the death of Jesus) and is believed to have been a student of the Apostle St. John.
What we know best about St. Ignatius begins with his final journey from Antioch to Rome, which he made as a prisoner condemned to death for being a Christian during the persecution of the Emperor Trajan. Altogether on this journey, he wrote seven letters which give us important insights into the theology of the Church in the period immediately following the Apostolic period. His letters speak of the nature of the Church, the Sacraments (which were still developing), and the role of the bishops (roles that were also being developed).
The letters reveal and affirm strongly Ignatius’ devotion to Christ and his belief in the Divinity of Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. They also urge unity in the communities in and through the celebration of the Eucharist. His most famous saying is contained in the letter he wrote to the Church at Rome: “I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all that I am dying willingly for God’s sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to die for Him, to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am God’s wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” St. Ignatius, pray for us.
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Siempre caminamos unidos a los ángeles y a todos los santos. Y, entre la multitud, hoy destaca San Ignacio de Antioquía, uno de los primeros mártires. Obispo de Antioquía en el siglo I, San Ignacio fue arrestado y condenado a ser arrojado a las fieras. Cuando iba hacia Roma, varias comunidades de cristianos lo recibieron con suma veneración. Él se lo agradeció afectuosamente en cartas escritas durante su viaje; les animó a adherirse firmemente a la fe y a permanecer unidos a la jerarquía “como cuerdas de una lira.” Les pidió a los cristianos no impedir que muriera como mártir, porque “Yo soy trigo de Cristo; que los dientes de los leones me muelan, para así poder ser el pan sin mancha de Cristo.”
También nosotros nos convertimos en el pan de Cristo y nuestra vida debe convertirse en una Eucaristía, una ofrenda de acción de gracias con el mismo Jesucristo. San Ignacio, ruega por nosotros.
