Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch<\/em><\/p>\n (Eph 2:1-10; Ps 100; Lk 12:13-21)<\/p>\n ***********************************************<\/p>\n \u201cOne\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.\u201d<\/p>\n The Word Among <\/em>Us serves as an initial resource for this reflection. It states that Jesus has just spoken at length to a large crowd about the riches awaiting those who believe in him. He has just finished telling them not to worry about what their future would look like, because God would care for them. But then, someone interrupts, \u201cTell my brother to share my father\u2019s inheritance with me,\u201d he demands. It\u2019s a wonder Jesus didn\u2019t groan in frustration! Aside from being rude, the interruption demonstrates the kind of attachments that keep people impoverished.<\/p>\n Jesus taught it is not lack of material possessions that makes us poor. Rather, it\u2019s preoccupation with what and how much we have \u2013 and how to get more of it, that impoverishes us. Why? Because it moves our attention away from the riches God has for us. It shifts our thoughts and efforts from serving our Creator and focuses us on created things instead. Jesus doesn\u2019t say material possessions are bad or to be despised. He is clear, however, that \u201cone\u2019s life does not consist of possessions\u201d (Lk 12:15).<\/p>\n What are the things that \u201cmatter to God\u201d (Lk 12:21)? First, that we would know his love for us personally. He created us out of love, and he loves us always. Second, that we matter to him \u2013 so much so we can trust him always to take care of us. Third, that Jesus died and rose so we could experience God\u2019s transforming grace in our lives. And finally, that confident in his love for us we would dedicate ourselves to loving and serving the people around us, especially those in need.<\/p>\n These are the riches we can steep ourselves in no matter how rich or poor we are materially. Every time we pray, we can tell God how much we love God. Better still, we can hear him tell us how much he loves us. Every passage of scripture can become another sign of that love and show us how to deepen our experience of that love. Reading the lives of the saints or spiritual books, attending daily mass – through all these ways, we can store up for ourselves all the things that matter.<\/p>\n In the first reading today to the Ephesians, St. Paul tries to outdo himself in driving home to them (and to us) how all is gift and grace from God. We were lost in sin and slaves to our own passions. It is by God\u2019s grace and mercy, and faith in Jesus, we are not only saved but also \u201craised up with Christ\u201d \u2013 given a share in the eternal life of the Trinity here and now. That is called \u201crealized eschatology\u201d in theological terms \u2013 heaven begins now in the lives of those who believe.<\/p>\n Our response to that free gift is important, and it must remain a response, not an effort to take back the reins and somehow think we can in any way earn God\u2019s love so freely given. Paul insists on this truth: \u201c\u2026 this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. This is not the result of works, so that no one may boast.\u201d He goes on to underline \u201cwe are what God made us, creating us in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n So, our ministry and good works are never to be an attempt to make ourselves holy; rather, they are to be the result, the fruit of God loving us so much. The best way to respond to God\u2019s awesome love for us, God\u2019s forgiveness and healing, is to be a force for good, sharing God\u2019s love for the world, with the world.<\/p>\n The psalm seconds this message \u2013 it is the Lord who has made us, we belong to God and are to respond with lives full of praise, gratitude and joy. An addendum to the gospel message from Jesus is to live simple lives, or as it is put in social justice circles, to live simply so others can simply live.<\/p>\n St Ignatius of Antioch<\/p><\/div>\n Today the Church honors St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr. Ignatius is believed to have been a convert to Christianity and a disciple of John the Evangelist. Bishop of Antioch for 40 years, he was arrested during the persecution under Trajan, condemned for confessing Christ and taken in chains to Rome. The ship in which he was sent travelled along the coast of Asia Minor and at every port, crowds of Christians would greet him. While on his journey to his death, Ignatius dictated seven letters on the Church, now counted among the treasures of early Christianity. Ignatius arrived in Rome about the year 107 and was taken directly to the amphitheater, where lions devoured him.<\/p>\n Here is an excerpt from one of his letters, demonstrating his unflagging faith in Jesus Christ: \u201cI am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God\u2019s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ\u2019s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.\u201d<\/p>\n The Eucharist that sustained St. Ignatius, makes present in Word and Sacrament God\u2019s unconditional love and grace for us. May our celebration deepen our faith in that love and empower us to respond with grateful praise and joyful selfless ministry to others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HOMILY WEEK 29 01 \u2013 Year II Faithful Grace and Grateful Ministry: Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch (Eph 2:1-10; Ps 100; Lk 12:13-21) *********************************************** \u201cOne\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.\u201d The Word Among Us serves as an initial resource for this reflection. It states that Jesus has just spoken at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies","category-ordinary-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6562,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions\/6562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/St-Ignatius-of-Antioch.jpg\")