Spirituality: Fidelity to apostolic tradition; the goodness of creation.
Reflection: Irenaeus learned the faith as a boy in Smyrna from St. Polycarp, who had
known St. John. He became bishop of Lyons in Gaul after the martyrdom of his
predecessor. His great work Against Heresies defended the faith against the Gnostics
by pointing to the bishops in succession from the Apostles, especially in the Church of
Rome. He taught that Christ came to restore all things, and that the glory of God is a
man fully alive. Irenaeus links us, through only a few generations, to the Apostles
themselves, and is honored as a martyr.