a couple of days ago, it was the feast day of St. Ignatius of Antioch. no, it was not the feast day of my man, ignatius loyola, but this gave me an opportunity to learn about st. iggy of antioch, most definitely! reading his bio, i learned he was a student of the apostle, John, he wrote lots of letters, and he was a Bishop after St. Peter!
st. ignatius of antioch was martyred by lions, and said, " the only thing i ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. i am the wheat of the Lord. may i be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ." i mean, dang, who says that? he had this incredibly trust in God and begged the Christians in rome to not try to stop his martyrdom. why was he martyred? because he refused to worship the official gods during the reign of the emperor at the time. in other words, st. ignatius of antioch had a profound trust in God.
for prayer on monday night, in honor of trust and a desire to faithfully abandon ourselves to God, i played the song, Be Not Afraid, and this verse stood out for me that night:
Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.
And if wicked men insult and hate you all because of me, blessed, blessed are you!
this may be one of the best hymns out there - for everyone walking and living their best to spread the Gospel and the love of God...this may indeed be the best anthem! at least, i think i connect with it pretty well, and what a beautiful reminder it is.
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