October 17, St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Ignatius and St. Paul: Wheat of Christ, bread for others
Bishop Giaquinta recalled the martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch in his retreat, Theology of the Cross: "The spiritual aspect of the Cross St. Ignatius of Antioch showed. Before being tossed to the lions, he rejoiced at the thought of being 'chewed to bec
ome immaculate bread of Christ.' He wrote his faithful in Antioch (he was a bishop) not to impede his martyrdom by appealing to Rome, for he was glad to die as Christ 'who died for us'. He reminded them that by his death he was not abandoning the world but living, as Christ, for it."
Bishop Giaquinta also teaches us how to follow the example of St. Ignatius of Antioch through examining the spirit of St. Paul. In Love is Revolution, he said:
"The way we must follow is exactly the same one that Paul followed on his way to Damascus. From the moment he surrendered himself unconditionally to love, he did not know how to deny anything to the Master and the brethren. Was the dream Paul had of converting the proud pagan world, in his adoration of the Just One on the Cross, any less utopian than our dream of a world of saints? The Apostle to the Gentiles did not hesitate; he let himself be consumed in a total gift of self to a tremendously demanding but immensely beautiful ideal.
The vocation to love is the most fascinating part of our Christian faith, even if living it and making it become lived is not easy and demands generosity. But are we not the sons and daughters of just such generosity? We read in the Letter to the Romans (Rom.1:14) that St. Paul considers himself obliged to all.
Also we are, above all toward those who with their generosity have handed down to us an ideal of faith and holiness. We are grateful to Peter because he accepted the condition of loving every other person more to become a servant to all the brothers; to Paul who abandoned himself to conquering love; to Ignatius of Antioch who spoke to us of mystical love that yearns to reach union with Christ by being devoured by beasts; to Benedict, to Francis, to Catherine, to Teresa, to John of the Cross, to Therese of. Lisieux, to the humble Cure of Ars and a hundred others who, like John, believed in love. (1John 4:12).
We, too, want to believe in love and make its self-giving the purpose of our lives. We are sure that if, by the end of our existence, we have increased by even a few degrees the intensity of love for the Father and our brethren, we will have done our part to make the utopia of saints more real for humanity, who are so much in need of it."
How does this challenge me today?
Do I desire to "make the utopia of saints more real for humanity" today?
In Preparation for Novemeber 1st: let us align ourselves with the angels and saints as we journey toward the day of Universal Sanctification!
ome immaculate bread of Christ.' He wrote his faithful in 
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