Today is the Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany, and is also the feast day of St. Ignatius (February 1st).Jesus our Lord commands the uncontrolled forces in nature: the fury of the sea and the violence of the winds, and thus manifests His Divinity. (1962 Roman Missal)
Like St. Polycarp, Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, was a disciple of St. John the Apostle. His letters are precious documents for our Faith. He was sent in chains to Rome and, when condemned to the wild beasts, exclaimed: "I am the wheat of Christ; may I be ground by the fangs of wild beasts and become bread agreeable to my Lord!" A.D. 110 (1962 Roman Missal)
St. Ignatius lived in the first century after Christ. Here are a couple of quotes from him regarding the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist:
"I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible." (Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).
"Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes." (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 [A.D. 110]).
Sounds very Catholic, huh?
St. Ignatius, pray for us.
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