Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people to continue to obey wholeheartedly the teachings of the Lord, our loving God and Saviour, Who has revealed His love to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, manifesting His love to us in the fullest and in manner that is tangible and approachable by us, so that we may come to benefit from His love and salvation, and that we may be assured of His ever patient guidance and help throughout our respective journeys in life. Consequently, we should also strive to keep away from ourselves all the 

In our first reading todayreadinb, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Ephesus, we heard the greeting from the Apostle to the faithful in Ephesus, reminding them all of the salvation in Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour, which he and the other Apostles and missionaries had been proclaiming about, reminding them that the salvation in the Lord came through Christ and whatever He had revealed to them through His disciples and Church, and not through other means such as through the obedience of the Law and commandments of God, as some of the converts from the Jewish background, especially those from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law group claimed and wanted to enforce the Jewish customs and ways on the rest of the Church and the Christian faithful.

As they were making such coercions and efforts, they were also claiming that unless the people of God obeyed the Law of Moses in how they were interpreted by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, then they could not be saved or have a share in God’s grace. This claim and false interpretations of the Law and their attempts to impose these on the Church and the faithful therefore were met with opposition and rebuke from St. Paul, just as the Lord Himself has also told the people that the path towards the Lord and eternal life is through Himself, and not through the obedience to the man-made laws, rules, regulations, customs and boundaries which men tried to set in their midst, in order to make some among themselves more righteous, worthy and better than others.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the continuation of the account from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist where the Lord continued to rebuke and criticise the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their actions and for their lack of faith in God and His Saviour. The context in all these must be understood in that the Lord had faced constant opposition and rejection, stubborn attitudes and obstacles from all those aforementioned Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who often doubted His teachings, questioned His authority to teach and perform the miracles, and used their own strict and rigid interpretation and understanding of the Law of God to oppose what the Lord had revealed and attempted to teach to them. As such, the Lord often faced a lot of hardships throughout His ministry because of all that.

That was why the Lord criticised and rebuked those Pharisees for their attitudes, which He highlighted as being similar with the attitudes that their ancestors and predecessors had once shown, in their stubbornness to follow the whim of their own desires, their own understanding and interpretation of things rather than to trust in the Lord and His truth. Their pride and ego, ambitions and desires of this world led them to walk down the wrong path and made them to be ever more distant from the Lord, as they had closed the doors of their hearts and minds to the Lord. This is the attitude that the Lord does not want any of us to have, so that we do not end up thinking that our ways and methods are better or that we are somehow better and superior than others around us. Instead, as Christians, it is always important that we remain humble and willing to listen to others, especially in listening to God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the renowned St. Ignatius of Antioch, a great Church father and one of the famous martyrs of the early Church, whose courage, faith and dedication to God are truly exemplary and inspirational to all of us. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the early successors of the Apostles and was a convert to the Christian faith during the time of the great missionary works of the Apostles, who were establishing the Church and spreading the Good News to many people all throughout the world. St. Ignatius of Antioch according to the Church history and tradition was the disciple of St. John the Apostle, and therefore knew about the Apostles directly and received the truth from them, which he himself upheld most faithfully and continued to propagate in his own ministry.

St. Ignatius of Antioch went to Antioch, to the city where one of the first community of Christians outside of Judah, Galilee and Jerusalem was formed, and there he succeeded St. Peter the Apostle who was the first Bishop of Antioch in eventually becoming the shepherd of the flock of God’s people in that great city, ministering to the faithful and proclaiming God’s Good News to many more of the people in that region, and eventually, during the intense persecutions against Christians at that time, he was martyred like most of the Apostles and many other disciples and missionaries of the Lord, and he remained firmly faithful to the Lord to the very end, not giving up his commitment to Him and remaining strong in his conviction to follow the Lord despite the sufferings and trials that he had to endure, and his great courage and faith strengthened many other faithful people of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and examples of St. Ignatius of Antioch, and as we have discerned the words of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore do our best so that we may follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us and been exemplary in their lives and faith in God. Let us all cast away our pride and ego, greed and other forms of desires that can lead us to the path towards our downfall. Let us all strive to do God’s will ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives from now on, and let us continue to inspire one another by our own exemplary lives that we may draw everyone ever closer towards the Lord. May God be with us all and may He bless our every endeavours and efforts that we may continue to glorify Him in all things. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 11 : 47-54

At that time, Jesus said to the teachers of the Law, “A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed. So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so? They got rid of the prophets, and you build monuments to them!”

“For that reason the wisdom of God also said : I will send prophets and Apostles and these people will kill and persecute some of them. But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the Sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will have to answer for them all.”

“A curse is on you, teachers of the Law, for you have taken the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering.”

As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to harass Him, asking Him endless questions, setting traps to catch Him in something He might say.

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 1 : 1-10

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, to you, who share Christian faith : receive grace and peace from God, our Father, and from Jesus, the Lord.

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, Who, in Christ, has blessed us from heaven, with every spiritual blessing. God chose us, in Christ, before the creation of the world, to be holy, and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us, in love, to be His adopted sons and daughters, through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving-kindness, which He granted us His beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

For, in Christ, we obtain freedom, sealed by His Blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this, appears the greatness of His grace, which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding, God has made known to us His mysterious design, in accordance with His loving-kindness, in Christ.

In Him, and under Him, God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.

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Tuesday, 17 October 2023 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that all of us are God’s faithful and holy people, and we have to be truly holy and worthy, in all of our actions and words, in how we live our lives and in how we interact with one another. Each and every one of us should always strive to follow God and His path, devoting ourselves wholeheartedly to His cause, and becoming good role models, examples and inspirations for everyone around us all in how we live our lives in this world, in our community and among one another. Unless we truly commit ourselves in our every words, actions and deeds, and have genuine faith and commitment in God, then we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, in which the Apostle spoke of the need for every members of the faithful people of God, the Body of Christ, the Church, to be truly dedicated to the Lord, and to place Him at the very centre and as the focus of their whole lives and existence. We must not allow ourselves to be deluded and swayed by worldly temptations and coercions, falsehoods, as well as attachments and our pride and greed to lead us down the wrong path into our downfall. As St. Paul mentioned that the Good News of God had been revealed to all of God’s faithful people, through Christ, His Son, and through His servants, the Apostles and disciples who have laboured hard to proclaim His Good News and truth to more and more of the people all throughout the world. However, there were those who continue to be deluded and misled by their attachments to worldly things, to power, glory and worldly pleasures among other things.

St. Paul elaborated further on how those people had known God and they had knowledge of His path and truth, and yet, they deluded themselves by their intelligence, wisdom and desires, their pride and ego which all led to them disobeying God and exchanging their faith in God with the faith in false idols and gods, or in trusting upon other distractions and false emphasis in life, which ended up bringing them further and further away from the path of God’s salvation and grace. This is because mankind, all of us, are easily tempted and swayed by our pride and ego, by our desires and ambitions, pursuits for power and glory, and all those things ended up closing the path towards God’s salvation because we delude ourselves that we have no need for God, or that there are other things that are worth our attention more than that of God.

That was exactly what happened to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at the time of the Lord Jesus, which was highlighted to us in our Gospel passage today. The Lord rebuked and criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for the superficial and the wrong nature of their faith, their observance and enforcement of the Law and the commandments of God. Those people who were very highly educated by the standards of that time, and knowledgeable about the teachings and words of the Prophets and messengers of God, all of them failed to recognise the Lord Himself when He came into this world through the Lord Jesus, His Son, as the Saviour of the world, because they could not accept that their version of the Law and their observance of the Law were mistaken and flawed.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law allowed their pride, ego, ambitions and desires to delude them and to distract them from their true obedience and responsibilities to God, in shepherding and guiding the people of God, and in being good role models and examples for all of the people. Instead, they allowed their personal ambitions, desires and greed to mislead them down the wrong path, to turn them towards the path of arrogance and greed, the path of disobedience and prejudice, as they did not just fail to carry out their responsibilities in caring for the spiritual need and well-being of the people, but they also did not live their lives worthily of the Lord, as they became superficial in their faith, and becoming very much preoccupied in their rituals and practices, overly attentive on the details and forgetting about the purpose and intent of the Law and commandments of God.

Essentially, those Pharisees and teachers of the Law had made false idols and gods out of their own preoccupation and overemphasis, their overly focused attention on the rituals and practices, and they had pushed God out of their lives with this emphasis and focus on their rites and practices. Hence, that is why the Lord rebuked and criticised them for their lack of faith and obedience to God, and for having done what they done in persecuting the people whom they had deemed to be less worthy than they were. They all had misled the people down the wrong path, and lived in vain pursuit of worldly glory, greatness, fame and power, and hence they had disregarded the Lord’s commandments and missions entrusted to them from the very beginning.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest Church fathers and leaders of the Church, whose faith and dedication to the Lord was truly exemplary and great, and whose commitment and obedience, focus and emphasis on the Lord remains strong and firm despite his important position in the Church, as he led the flock entrusted to him with great zeal, courage and faith at all times. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the earliest Bishops of Antioch, as the successor of the Apostles, in being a disciple and follower of St. John the Apostle according to the Apostolic and Chruch traditions. He was also known as Theophorus, or God-Bearer, as according to some traditions, he was one of the children who had been brought to the Lord and blessed by Him.

St. Ignatius of Antioch dedicated himself to the well-being of his people, in spreading the Good News of God and the truth, love and hope that the Lord has revealed to His Apostles and disciples. Antioch was then one of the early and major centres of the Christian faith, and many people each day converted to the faith thanks to the efforts of the Apostles and their successors, including that of St. Ignatius of Antioch himself. St. Ignatius of Antioch courageously carried out his duties with great humility, and with great commitment and devotion, to be the Good Shepherd in managing the people of God and leading them to the right path. He was martyred during one of the persecutions of Christians running rampant at that time, but until the very end, St. Ignatius of Antioch has always remained firm in his conviction and faith in God, in serving Him all the time, throughout his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we remember what we have discerned and discussed earlier regarding the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, and as we heed and remember the life and examples of St. Ignatius of Antioch, let us all hence do our best so that we may truly embody our Christian faith at all times, and be truly exemplary and faithful in all things. Let us all continue to do our best, to work and to do our part as servants and followers of the Lord, in all things, so that we may be the shining and bright beacons of God’s light and Good News, to bring forth His hope and light to all the nations. May God be with us always, and may He empower each and every one of us to be truly worthy and faithful, despite the many trials and challenges facing us throughout our lives and journey. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 October 2023 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 11 : 37-41

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to have a meal with him. So He went and sat at table. The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not wash His hands before the dinner.

But the Lord said to him, “So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He Who made the outside, also made the inside. But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.”

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Tuesday, 17 October 2023 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Tuesday, 17 October 2023 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Romans 1 : 16-25

For I am not ashamed at all, of this Good News; it is God’s power, saving those who believe, first, the Jews, and then, the Greeks. This Good News shows us the saving justice of God; a justice that saves, exclusively by faith, as the Scripture says : The upright one shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness, and injustice, of those who have silenced the truth by their wicked ways. For everything that could have been known about God, was clear to them : God Himself made it plain. Because His invisible attributes – His everlasting power and divinity – are made visible to reason, by means of His works, since the creation of the world.

So they have no excuse, for they knew God, and did not glorify Him, as was fitting; nor did they give thanks to Him. On the contrary, they lost themselves in their reasoning, and darkness filled their minds. Believing themselves wise, they became foolish : they exchanged the glory of the Immortal God, for the likes of mortal human beings, birds, animals and reptiles. Because of this, God gave them up to their inner cravings; they did shameful things and dishonoured their bodies.

They exchanged God’s truth for a lie; they honoured and worshipped created things, instead of the Creator, to Whom be praise forever. Amen!

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the immense love and mercy of God through which each and every one of us have received the assurance of eternal life and salvation, all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us must remember how the Lord cares for us and how He treats us as truly precious people, as His own children, so that we will remember that we should remain focused on Him and not on worldly things and all else which can easily distract us in our way and journey towards His salvation and eternal life.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul reminding all the people of God there of everything that the Lord had done for them, in their great fortune in having been rescued and redeemed by their Lord, Master, Saviour and Redeemer. All of them have deserved death and destruction, damnation and hell, and yet, God had mercy on them and because He is so full of love, and to all of us this reminder serves the same purpose, because God’s love, compassion and mercy are extended to all of us, regardless of our background and how great a sinner we have been in our respective lives.

St. Paul himself highlighted just how fallen and wretched our human nature and existence were, and yet, because of God’s love and mercy, all of us have received a new lease of life, a new hope and liberation from our downwards path towards destruction. St. Paul encouraged all of us just as he did to the faithful in Ephesus, reminding us of just how great and rich God’s mercy and compassion truly are. But at the same time, we must also not take His love and mercy for granted, or else, we will end up spurning these advances of love and mercy by the Lord, as what had happened to many of our predecessors, who were so caught up in their pride, ego and greed that they ignored the Lord and His love and mercy.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that was precisely the reason why so many had faltered in their journey towards the Lord. They all failed to appreciate and embrace the Lord’s approach of love and compassion towards them. They took His love and generosity for granted and ignored and abandoned Him at their own convenience. In the end, they were all condemned not because God did not love them, but because they had little to no faith in Him, and they rejected Him by their own conscious effort and accord. They refused to embrace God’s love and mercy, and preferring to remain in the state of sin, although God has so generously given them His loving compassion and has always offered them His forgiveness.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples using the example of a rich man who asked Him to judge and support him for his part of the inheritance against his own brethren. The Lord then also mentioned a parable about a rich man who was consumed with worry and preoccupied with his greed and desires, thinking of how he could accumulate more of whatever wealth that he had been gathering up to that point. The Lord concluded that parable and story with the warning of how even that rich man would meet his end, because if God so wills it, his life could end there and then, and nothing of what he had accumulated would accompany him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does the Lord want us to learn from these passages today? Through His Church and the Scriptures today, the Lord wants us to know that we should be vigilant with ourselves and with the many temptations ever present all around us, lest we may be tempted to abandon Him and His love for the sake of worldly glory, material wealth, fame, possessions, human praise, status and many other things in this world which often distracted us and dragged us away from the path of God and into the path towards damnation and destruction. We have often indulged in these worldly desires and ended up forgetting about God, about His love and mercy.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the great early Church fathers whose life and works, whose actions and faith can become sources of inspiration for all of us in how each one of us can become ever better and more committed Christians in life. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the early Church fathers and bishops as the successors of the Apostles in the ministry of the Church, and he was the successor of St. Peter in the See of Antioch that the Apostle founded, who was dedicated to his flock and the expansion of the Church, for the care and salvation of souls among others.

St. Ignatius of Antioch was and is still greatly revered for his piety and faith in God, for his immense contribution and commitment to the Lord and His Church, as he wrote extensively to the Church, and corresponded actively with Pope St. Clement, the Bishop of Rome and St. Peter’s successor as the Vicar of Christ, and with the other Church fathers, on top of his work and passionate dedication to his local Christian flock. He faced hardships and challenges just as many of the early Christians and the Apostles themselves had faced, and died as a martyr in defending his faith and love for God.

Let us all therefore follow the good examples set by our holy predecessors, by St. Ignatius of Antioch and the innumerable other saints and martyrs, who have shown us what it truly means for us to become Christians, in becoming the holy people of God, called and chosen from this darkened and wretched world. We have been called to a greater and holier existence, to be like our loving and good Father, our Lord and Saviour Himself. Therefore, each and every one of us should strive to purify our lives and to align ourselves to His path and teachings, and reject all the corruptions and other things which sin had brought unto us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in life, that we may ever persevere through the challenges and trials of life, especially when our faith in Him are tested and when we face hardships in life. We should remain firm in our faith and commitment to God, remembering His faithfulness to the Covenant that He had made with us, the love which He had generously given us and the compassion by which He willingly forgives us our sins. Let us all therefore commit ourselves to the Lord anew and endeavour and strive to lead a new life from now on, without sin any more. May God bless us and remain with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 12 : 13-21

At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”