The feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch.



Born in Syria, around the year 50, Ignatius became the second Bishop of Antioch, Syria. He was a convert and a disciple of St.John. He was appointed Bishop of Antioch about the year 69 by St.Peter.
Ignatius had all the qualities of an ideal pastor. When persecution came upon the Christian community it found their faithful leader prepared and watchful. He was unremitting in his vigilance and tireless in his efforts to inspire hope and to strengthen the weaklings of his flock against the absolute horror of their persecution.
Peace returned, but it was to be short lived and during the reign of Emperor Trajan, he was sentenced  to death and brought under guard to Rome. As he travelled in captivity he wrote letters to the Christian communities he passed thru. He thanked them for their concern and encouraged them to be faithful to the teachings they had received. He begged them not to prevent his death because he had hoped to die a martyrs death, which was certainly answered he went bravely to his death in the amphitheater where he was malled to death by the lions.

Ignatius' legacy was to urge the Christians of his day to be united in the faith they had received from the apostles. No false teachings should lead them astray. Jesus Christ was their Lord. And they  were to listen to their bishops. He died in Rome on December 20th 107.



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Happy Feast Day!

Today is the feast day of the great mystic, St. Teresa of Avila. She was the first woman doctor of the Church. Born in Avila in 1515 she secretly left her Fathers house when she was 20 and joined the Carmelites. Her convent housed more than 140 nuns, and the parlour was the social centre of the
whole place receiving many visitors. Teresa used to love the social scene chatting happily with all the
 visitors, She found it very easy to neglect her prayers.

When she decided to strive for religious perfection she received many spiritual graces, for which she was ridiculed, however in 1557 St.Peter of Alcantra assured her that what she was experiencing was truly from God.
Teresa  established  a new, reformed convent where the nuns were enclosed and spent much of their time in silence. They wore sandals instead of shoes, hence the name discalced. Teresa went on to found a number of convents and she reformed two monasteries with the help of her friend St. John of the Cross.

 Teresa is well known for her spiritual writings especially the way to perfection and the interior castle.
So if like me you are neglectful of saying your prayers and spend to much time on social networking, then maybe some prayer time spent with Teresa of Avila will help us to also reach the way of perfection.