Quote from Ignatius of Antioch
Please pray for me, that I may have both spiritual and physical strength to perform my duties; that I may not only speak the truth but become the truth; that I may not only be called a Christian, but also live like a Christian. Yet I do not want people to look to me as an example, for at best I can only be a pale reflection of Christ Jesus; let people look away from the reflection and turn to the reality. Christianity is not a matter of persuading people of particular ideas, but of inviting them to share in the greatness of Christ. So pray that I may never fall into the trap of impressing people with clever speech, but instead I may learn to speak with humility, desiring only to impress people with Christ himself.
October 23, 2007 at 8:57 pm
wow.
October 23, 2007 at 11:41 pm
For reals.
April 2, 2008 at 7:43 am
That is such an encouraging quote…Did you get this out of a book, or online somewhere?
April 2, 2008 at 1:03 pm
hm… that’s a good question. I’ll have to look…. of course I should also post something new so you don’t have to go digging in October’s posts in order to have reading material. If I remember right, it was a teacher of mine that quoted him in his notes, but I’ll have to check for sure.
August 11, 2009 at 4:09 pm
thats St. Ignatius of Antioch to you
August 20, 2009 at 6:33 am
Ha ha… whoops. My protestant seems to be glaring:)
August 20, 2009 at 5:28 pm
haha no biggie… I always find it remarkable that Protestants quote people like St. Ignatius of Antioch and other Church Fathers like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, yet remain Protestant. These guys defined the theological parameters in which the Roman Catholic Church exists today. In fact, St. Ignatius of Antioch was the first person documented to call the Church of Christ the Catholic Church. I guess what I am getting at here, though it may not apply to you, is why not take to heart all of the other things that St. Ignatius stood for? Things that were strictly and theologically Catholic.
September 3, 2009 at 8:35 am
Awesome quote.
Ignatius is the first who used the word “catholic” to describe the church, but by that he simply meant “universal”. The word was not yet used to describe the Catholic (uppercase C) Church. The way he used it in his letters it looked like it was already in common use by that time too. Some scholars think the word was in use by the last quarter of the first century even.
Crazy stuff.
September 4, 2009 at 6:06 am
Interesting- I had no idea.
September 4, 2009 at 9:19 am
Note that “catholic” or “universal” in this and in every orthodox context does not mean the collective church or the “church-universal”. By calling the Church “Catholic”, (as St. Ignatius, St. Irenaeus, and St. Justin Martyr did in their epistles and writings) one defines the Church as THE principal or THE absolute Church…The Church in which the fullness or the universality of Christ’s extension on earth dwells apart from unorthodox schisms (Ebonites, Nestorians, Monophysites, Protestants, etc.). The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches have always described themselves as “Catholic” in this sense. Though the term “catholic” is an instituted title of the Roman Church, its sole purpose is to describe this orthodox state Apostolic Christianity. It is when Christians absolve from communion with the Roman Catholic Church that this term becomes more of a corporate title rather than a theological or orthodox delineator.
August 21, 2009 at 8:26 am
I’m sure that does seem pretty strange:)
To be honest, there are many of the Catholic Church who have greatly impacted my love for Jesus. Though I’m a total novice on the many saints who have formed the Catholic Church, I do have the highest respect for those men and women who have unrelentingly stood for the truth of Scripture. One of my favorite books of all time is ‘The Holy One of God’ by Raneiro Cantalamessa. His insight into the divinity of Christ has marked me deeply in my relationship with Christ. That, to me, is the greatest expression of Christianity; causing others to love and serve Jesus with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
August 21, 2009 at 9:47 am
It is quite strange, yet I am not surprised. The Catholic Church is a beautiful and inspiring faith tradition that is chock full of people like Fr. Raneiro who provide deeply convicting insight into the things of God. Have you heard of the author Scott Hahn? I encourage you to read his books “The Lamb’s Supper” and “Swear to God”. Both of these books, among many more from this author, beautifully define the core teachings of the Catholic Church. I think you would like them.
delete the posts above. I am a dumb dumb.
August 21, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Thanks, I’ll have to check them out.