Saint Ignatius was bishop of Antioch in Syria in the earliest generation after the apostles, traditionally remembered as a disciple of Saint John. Arrested during the reign of Emperor Trajan, he was taken to Rome and martyred around the year 107, thrown to wild beasts in the arena. On the journey he wrote seven letters to the churches that survive today, and in them he was the first writer we know to use the phrase 'the Catholic Church.'
Facing death, Ignatius did not despair; he called himself 'the wheat of God' and trusted that dying with Christ was the doorway to real life. His letters urge unity, love, and holding fast to the Eucharist as 'the medicine of immortality.' He shows us that faith can stay tender and hopeful even on the hardest road, and that love for Jesus is stronger than fear.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch, you trusted Jesus to the very end; pray for us and for all we love, that our hearts may stay united to Christ through every trial. Amen.