Catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos, meaning universal. St. Ignatius of Antioch first used this in his letter to the Christians of Smyrna, saying, “Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the catholic church.” All Christians, in the first 1000 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, identified themselves as being members of this Catholic church. It was in 1054 that the first schism occurred.
On his way to Rome to give up his life as witness to Christ, St. Ignatius wrote: “I am glad to die for God, provided you do not hinder me. I beg you not to show me a misplaced kindness. Let me be the food of beasts that I may come to God. I am his wheat, and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become Christ’s pure bread.”
The times call upon thee to pray. For as the wind aids the pilot of a ship, and as havens are advantageous for safety to a tempest-tossed vessel, so is also prayer to thee, in order that thou mayest attain to God. – St. Ignatius, in letter to St. Polycarp
Read today from I Sing A Song of the Saints of God.
For older kids, there’s Junia: The Fictional Life and Death of an Early Christian by Michael Giesler
An excerpt:
“Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch and very outspoken in his faith. He had refused to offer incense to the Emperor’s statue. When they brought him to Rome, he was over eighty years old. You should have seen him, Junia. He was so courageous! Just before they sent him to the lions, he prayed for his executioners, and he said a prayer that I will never forget.”
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