It goes without saying that the Christian life is one lived on guard and alert. We wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and we live sober and alert against the Devil, described above as a prowling lion waiting for an unaware, unsuspecting soul to carry off into the darkness.
Peter and his successors have warned the faithful against many sins and temptations over the years and continue to do so today through preaching, encyclicals and other means. Before Peter became the bishop of Rome he was the bishop of Antioch. One of his successors to the Patriarchate of Antioch was Saint Ignatios of Antioch.
St Igantios was not caught unaware by the devil, but was granted a martyrs death mauled and eaten by lions in Rome. Shortly before his martyrdom he wrote this:
"I am God's wheat, ground fine by the lion's teeth to be made purest bread for Christ. No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God."
He is also the namesake of the parish I belong to. Almost every Sunday (depending upon season it might be switched out), we sing a prayer that starts off "O Ignatios you received the prize of Victory..." He stay alert against the temptation to renounce his Lord and received the Victory of a Martyr's death.
See The Kennedy Adventures! Not Struggling Alone: Saints and Scripture
May God bless all who read my ramblings,
Adopt A Catholic Blog
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