Wednesday, October 17, 2007

A Recently Discovered Appendix to St. Ignatius' Letter to the Magnesians

A fragment of an appendix to the letter of St. Ignatius to the Christians in Magnesia on the Maeandar has been discovered in a monastery high atop Mt. Athos. This important discovery gives Patristic Scholars an understanding of medicines used in the Second Century and the place of antacids in Late Antiquity

P.S. I give thanks to God and to your godly Bishop Damas, your worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius and the deacon Zotion, and for the Church which is Magnesia on the Maeander for your faithful witness, but most of all for the little blue bottle of milk which you presented me to relieve my distress. It calmed my stomach, ceased the rumblings from deep with in me, and ended the Fearful Case of the Trots, which had convinced me that I would meet our Blessed Lord long before the beasts of the arena in Rome would have their opportunity. However, the texture is somewhat chalky, and the flavour of this milk was much worse than if it had been left out in the sun for two days; it was all I could do to keep it down. The Lord has called me to suffer for the faith and end of appendix has been lost.

12 comments:

Fran said...

On a day like this, I read your post and wonder why some people continue to believe that religion is full of mierda.

Go figure. Uh-oh... got to run.

Caminante said...

Are we to infer that that good padre is not up to snuff today or is very much up to snuff?

Paul said...

Good question, Caminante. I take it as on occasion to pray for the good padre. (We all can use pray under any condition but this hints at a need for fervent intercession.)

Padre Mickey said...

I'm fine; it was Ignatius with the problem.

Brother David said...

¡I almost believed this at first blush!

¿Padre is this your creativity or did you borrow it?

Padre Mickey said...

It's me, David; I made it up.
I love making fake historic texts.

Brother David said...

I love making fake historic texts.

So it seems have others in the past, but sometimes with more serious consequences. Yours give themselves away for the fun which they are.

Caminante said...

Look, that hot and humid Panamanian climate kind of addles your brain. It did mine and I was only there for a week.

Rev. Kurt Huber said...

Oh padre, you left off the appendix to the appendix.

You know, the one with the prayer that begins:

O Lord of all creation, flush me through with thy milk, cleanse me with thy minerals, relieve me and set me free...

Padre Mickey said...

Estimado Reverendo Kurt;
I believe that prayer is not found in the original, Syriac documents, but in the Diahrrean Recension.

Rev. Kurt Huber said...

Ah yes, now I remember...

June Butler said...

You had me there for a minute, you rascal of a priest.

Rev. Kurt, that's masterful.

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