Oct. 17 – St. Ignatius of Antioch:
A bishop and martyr, Ignatius first used the term “Catholic Church.”
“Wherever Jesus Christ is”, he said, “there is the Catholic Church” (his letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8: 2).
His letters emphasized the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the importance of living faith authentically—not just speaking it.
“We recognize a tree by its fruit, and we ought to be able to recognize a Christian by his action,” he wrote. “The fruit of faith should be evident in our lives, for being a Christian is more than making sound professions of faith. It should reveal itself in practical and visible ways. Indeed, it is better to keep quiet about our beliefs, and live them out, than to talk eloquently about what we believe, but fail to live by it.”
Have zero doubt, “Jesus Christ”, St Ignatius wrote to the Smyrnaeans, “was truly of the seed of David”, “he was truly born of a virgin”, “and was truly nailed [to the Cross] for us.”
