28th Week, Friday, Oct 17; Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Romans 4:1-8 / Luke 12:1-7
Paul talks about Abraham; Abraham's faith was his glory.
Another important truth follows from this. If Christian faith is, above all, faith in Jesus, then we cannot pick and choose what to believe from what Jesus says. If we did that, it would mean we really don't have complete faith in Jesus.
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How strong is our faith in Jesus? In his Church, which is the extension of himself into space and time? “'If you believe only what you like, and reject what you don't like, then it isn't the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” Augustine of Hippo
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Abraham was saved not by what he did but because, when he was a pagan and a sinner, he discovered a caring God in whom he believed. He knew that he stood before God with empty hands and consented to receive gratuitously from the hands of God.
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If we ever get into heaven, we ought to be surprised, maybe because we should be surprised that we could ever get there in the first place. Indeed, how many of us can say that we truly deserve to be in heaven.
We may be baptised, live religious lives, are good people and maybe even doing service and great things for the Lord. But does that mean that we can claim for ourselves a place in heaven?
The 1st reading says that if a person has work to show, his wages are not considered as favour, but rather his due. But when a person has nothing to show except his faith and trust in God, then that person is truly blessed. Abraham was given as an example of a man who put his faith in God, and hence his faith was a blessing for him. Indeed, faith is truly a gift from God. It is because we see faith as a gift from God, that our deeds are acts of thanksgiving and to glorify God.
Then our deeds would not be for selfish and self-glorifying motives. We would not want to be hypocritical because we know that God sees everything and knows what is deep in our hearts. Finally, when we see God face to face, there is no need to talk about the good we have done. We just want to give thanks to God for our faith and Him and for letting us be with Him forever.
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Christ continues to denounce the Pharisees. In the contradictions of a life that wants to be faithful to the Gospel, Christians have to go God’s ways, not their own. They entrust themselves into the hands of God who cares and to whom we are very precious.
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Prayer
Lord our God, we stand before you with empty hands. Our good intentions, the things we do are powerless to save us. God, help us to accept this truth, for it hurts our pride. Teach us to receive gratuitously your grace, your merciful love and also the help and love of our neighbour. Save us from ourselves and from sin by the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
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Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Feast day October 17
Ignatius was a convert to Christianity. When he was named the second bishop of Antioch, Syria, Ignatius became a successor of Saint Peter. In 107, Emperor Trajan tried to force Christians to renounce their religion.
Ignatius allowed soldiers to bind him in a rickety cart and lead him to Rome for martyrdom. As his cart rolled into towns, local bishops and Christians came to meet and encourage him. His friend Saint Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, received him with great honor, because he saw Ignatius’s holiness.
On the journey, Ignatius wrote seven letters to the churches he left behind. The letters give insight into the growth of theology. Ignatius praised the love and support he experienced on his way to Rome. He insisted that the people obey their bishop and act only with his approval. “Wherever the bishop is, there let the people be, for there is the Catholic Church.” (Letter to the Church at Smyrna 8.1–2) Ignatius wrote that Christ was present in the Church, in each member, and in the Blessed Sacrament. Of himself, he said, “I am the wheat of Christ, may I be ground by the teeth of beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.” He asked his people to gather around the Eucharist and to care for “the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, as well as those in prison, the hungry and the thirsty.” (Letter to the Church at Smyrna 6.2) He called himself “the bearer of God.” Ignatius was devoured by wild beasts in the Roman amphitheater.
