I hunger for the bread of God, the flesh of Jesus Christ ...; I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep longing for spiritual connection and divine love through faith.
In this quote, Ignatius Of Antioch conveys an intense desire for a profound relationship with the divine, symbolized by the imagery of consuming bread and wine, which represent the body and blood of Christ in Christian theology. This longing suggests that true fulfillment and love are found in a spiritual communion that transcends earthly experiences, highlighting the significance of faith and divine love in one's life.
In practice
In a sermon about faith, I might use this quote to emphasize the importance of spiritual nourishment.
Now do I begin to be a disciple of Christ, and care for nothing in this world, that so I may find Jesus. Let fire, or the cross, or wild beasts, or the breaking of my bones, or the cutting of me to pieces, or the shattering of my whole body, yea, all the tortures of the devil - let them all come upon me, only let me enjoy my God.
I greet you from Smyrna together with the Churches of God present here with me. They comfort me in every way, both in body and soul. My chains, which I carry about on me for Jesus Christ, begging that I may happily make my way to God, exhort you: persevere in your concord and in you community prayers.
I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for God's sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am God's wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ.
Where the bishop is present, there is the Catholic Church
I am God's wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ's pure bread.
I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God.
What are you thinking?β She asks. -That you are beautiful. That not everyone could see it. I almost became the kind of person who could not.
I love who I am, and I encourage other people to love and embrace who they are. But it definitely wasn't easy - it took me a while.
So we contemplate each other, and we want each other, and I give it life and warmth, and it gives me my reason for living.
Sooner or later all mankind will realize that the greatest cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrow and crimes of humanity rests solely in acts of love. Love is the greatest gift from God. It is the divine spark that everywhere produces and restores life. To each and every one of us, love gives us the power to work miracles with your own life and those we touch.
I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now so he shall never know how I love him and that not because he's handsome Nelly but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of his and mine are the same and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning or frost from fire.
She might be a great person, but life's so much bigger than just loving someone.
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