Originally posted February 1, 2021
Today is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The Communion verse is literally his own words at the point of his martyrdom: “I am the wheat of Christ; may I be ground by the teeth of beasts that I may be found pure bread.”
GOSPEL (John 12:24-26) At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, Itself remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal. If any man minister to me, let him follow me: and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour.”
Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch after St. Peter. When Emperor Trajan tried to force the Christians of that region to worship the Roman gods, the greatest obstacle to his purpose proved to be the aged bishop of Antioch. Trajan ordered that the intrepid prelate be taken to Rome in the year 107 and then thrown to the lions in the arena. The magnificent letters Ignatius sent to several Christian communities during his journey recall the mysticism of St. Paul’s Epistles. “My yearning is for death. My love has been crucified, and I am not on fire with the love of earthly things. I desire incorruptible love,” he wrote.
https://tridentine-mass.blogspot.com/2021/02/saint-ignatius-of-antioch-107-ad-saint.html