St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop, Martyr (Memorial)

St. Ignatius of Antioch was the third Bishop of Antioch. Ignatius called himself Theophorus (God Bearer), convinced was he of Christ’s presence in him and whom he longed to meet after his death.. His feast day is on 17 October. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome where he was thrown to the lions in the Roman Colosseum.

"Permit me to imitate my suffering God ... Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. ”, wrote Bishop Ignatius of Antioch, in his letter to the Romans.

Thursday, 17 October, 2013
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop, Martyr (Memorial)

Reading 

Romans 3: 21 - 30
21	But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,
22	the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;
23	since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24	they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,
25	whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;
26	it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.
27	Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith.
28	For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.
29	Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
30	since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised through their faith.

Psalm

Psalms 130: 1 - 6
1	Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
2	Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3	If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4	But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5	I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6	my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Gospel

Luke 11: 47 - 54
47	Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
48	So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.
49	Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, `I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,'
50	that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,
51	from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation.
52	Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."
53	As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard, and to provoke him to speak of many things,
54	lying in wait for him, to catch at something he might say.