Pray without ceasing on behalf of other men...For cannot he that falls rise again?
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of continuous prayer and support for others in their struggles.
Ignatius of Antioch encourages us to maintain a relentless prayer life for our fellow human beings, highlighting the belief in redemption and resilience. The quote suggests that despite the setbacks and failures one may encounter, there is always hope for recovery and the possibility of rising again, aligning our spiritual practices with compassion for others.
In practice
During a community gathering, this quote can inspire people to pray for those who are struggling.
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.
We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don't care for.
You ought not attempt to cure the eyes without the head, or the head without the body, so neither ought you attempt to cure the body without the soul.
RICH, adj. Holding in trust and subject to an accounting the property of the indolent, the incompetent, the unthrifty, the envious and the luckless.
When I was doing missionary work when I was younger, which started this obsession of mine with the literature of witness, I was a translator for a missionary group, and I spent years in a Tijuana dump. People were really thrown by the fact that the Mexican poor, many of them pureblood indigenous people, seemed happy.
It should not be surprising if people believe easily in a God who makes no demands, but this is not the God of the Bible. Satan has cleverly misled people by whispering that they can believe in Jesus Christ without being changed, but this is the Devil's lie. To those who say you can have Christ without giving anything up, Satan is deceiving you.
Not just self-restraint, that old killjoy, but communal restraint.
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