saturday 17 October 2020
St Ignatius of Antioch (- 107)
He was the second bishop of Antioch after St Peter. He was arrested, condemned to death and transported to Rome to be thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. He was martyred in 107 and his feast was already being celebrated on this day in fourth-century Antioch.
Red
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Gal 2: 19-20
I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who adorn the sacred body of your Church with the confessions of holy Martyrs; grant, we pray, that, just as the glorious passion of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, which we celebrate today, brought him eternal splendour, so it may be for us unending protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Ephesians 1:15-23
I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.
Psalm 8:2-7
R/ You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.
- How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth! Your majesty is praised above the heavens; on the lips of children and of babes you have found praise to foil your enemy, to silence the foe and the rebel.
- When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?
- Yet you have made him little less than a god; with glory and honour you crowned him, gave him power over the works of your hand, put all things under his feet.
Gospel Acclamation: 1 S 3:9, Jn 6:68
Alleluia, alleluia! Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 12:8-12
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels. ‘Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ‘When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation and our homage be pleasing to you, O Lord, just as you accepted Saint Ignatius, the wheat of Christ, made pure bread through his martyrdom and passion. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon:
I am the wheat of Christ to be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be found to be pure bread.
Prayer after Communion
May the heavenly Bread we have received, O Lord, on the feast day of Saint Ignatius, renew us, we pray, and make us Christians in name and in deed. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus to know God better. How do you get to know someone? Is it by reading biographical information or historical data about him? That surely will help you know a lot ‘about’ that person but it won’t enable you to ‘know’ him. If you want to know someone you have to spend time with that person, there is no shortcut. Study the word of God especially the gospels to see what Jesus was like on earth two thousand years ago. Go on your knees in prayer to understand the profundity of his majesty. Spend time with him before the Blessed Sacrament to appreciate his abiding presence. Personal knowledge of Christ will change your life.