Sep
9
Reflection on Ignatius of Antioch
Filed Under Catholicism, Eucharist, Franciscan University, Reflection, Theology
Ignatius’ Epistles was a gripping read for many reasons. First, I was very intrigued by the way he wrote his epistles with such strong conviction while refraining from the use of his ecclesial authority. In doing so, he bore great witness by his common humanity. He also used curious phrases throughout his letters suggesting a strong sense of merit. Phrases such as “win my way to God” and “achieving greatness” seemed initially arrogant, but he was quick to clarify how, though he might make progress in discipleship, the progress does not justify him. It also became apparent that discipleship was quite a demanding thing for Ignatius, seeing as he considers martyrdom as the “first stage” of true discipleship.
The line that struck me the most was from Romans: “When I am close to the sword I am close to God, and when I am surrounded by the lions I am surrounded by God. But it is only in the name of Jesus Christ, and for the sake of sharing His sufferings, that I could face all this.” For Ignatius, not unlike Polycarp, martyrdom was a joyful witness of God’s love which only made sense because of Christ’s cross which had gone before him. Just as the cross so greatly offends unbelievers, so this zeal for suffering is madness to a man without Christ. But as Ignatius himself says, if God is inside him, he will “understand my longings.” This led me to reflect about my own disposition toward suffering. I certainly don’t take pleasure in discipline as the Magnesians did, nor have chains ever been spiritual pearls to me. This realization was a profoundly challenging one indeed – could suffering ever be a joy for me?
This fundamental theme of suffering is born out in each of Ignatius’ epistles, but especially in Romans, where he gives it a sacrificial context. He achieves this most poignantly when he speaks of his martyrdom as an allusion to the Eucharistic liturgy where he sees the altar prepared for him, and asks to be ground fine and into the purest bread for Christ.
This likening to the Paschal sacrifice betrays Ignatius’ profound belief of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. It also explains why he so ardently desires the Eucharist even as he speaks of his death: “I am fain for the bread of God… and for my drink I crave that Blood of which is love imperishable.” These, his “pangs of birth” into eternal life, also explain well why he references the Eucharist as immortality in his letter to the Ephesians. It also sheds further light upon his appeals for unity, for he says in his letter to the Trallians that approaching the sacrifice requires unity, and in his letter to the Philadelphians that there is but one single altar of sacrifice.
This one sacrifice, the sacrifice of Calvary re-presented through the Eucharist, is the very sacrifice to which Ignatius wishes to unite his own suffering. It is the sacrifice which has forever and for all time, given man the opportunity of salvation. This is also why Ignatius differentiates Christ as a greater high priest than those of old and entreats the faithful to abandon their Jewish customs and embrace their sufferings. It is only through Christianity – through the cross of Christ – that the Jewish religion can even make sense any more. The immensity of this truth and the devotion to Christ’s cross shines through Ignatius’ writings like a beacon of tremendous hope and joy.
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