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Thread: Holy Catholic Feasts and Solemnities

  1. #11
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    I went to a baptist church that participated in all of these feasts. It was nice. The one I'm going to now doesn't do those things. I feel that some protestants, the Anabaptists in particular, threw the baby out with the bathwater when they got rid of all the feasts except for Christmas, Easter, and maybe Advent.

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    I didnt know so many people here were religious.

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    Default 21 January - Memorial of St Agnes

    21 January - Memorial of St Agnes


    On 21 January, the Roman Catholic Church honors the virgin and martyr St. Agnes, who suffered death for her consecration to Christ.

    Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine tradition celebrate her feast day Jan. 14.

    Although the details of Agnes' life are mostly unknown, the story of her martyrdom has been passed on with reverence since the fourth century. On the feast day of the young martyr – whose name means “lamb” in Latin – the Pope traditionally blesses lambs, whose wool will be used to make the white pallium worn by archbishops.

    Born into a wealthy family during the last decade of the third century, Agnes lived in Rome during the last major persecution of the early Church under the Emperor Diocletian. Though he was lenient toward believers for much of his rule, Diocletian changed course in 302, resolving to wipe out the Church in the empire.

    Agnes came of age as the Church was beginning to suffer under a set of new laws decreed by Diocletian, and his co-ruler Galerius, in 303. The emperor and his subordinate called for churches to be destroyed and their books burned. Subsequent orders led to the imprisonment and torture of clergy and laypersons, for the sake of compelling them to worship the emperor instead of Christ.

    Meanwhile, Agnes had become a young woman of great beauty and charm, drawing the attention of suitors from the first ranks of the Roman aristocracy. But in keeping with the words of Christ and Saint Paul, she had already decided on a life of celibacy for the sake of God's kingdom. To all interested men, she explained that she had already promised herself to a heavenly and unseen spouse.

    These suitors both understood Agnes' meaning, and resented her resolution. Some of the men, possibly looking to change her mind, reported her to the state as a believer in Christ. Agnes was brought before a judge who tried first to persuade her, and then to threaten her, into renouncing her choice not to marry for the Lord's sake.

    When the judge showed her the various punishments he could inflict – including fire, iron hooks, or the rack that destroyed the limbs by stretching – Agnes smiled and indicated she would suffer them willingly. But she was brought before a pagan altar instead, and asked to make an act of worship in accordance with the Roman state religion.

    When Agnes refused, the judge ordered that she should be sent to a house of prostitution, where the virginity she had offered to God would be violated. Agnes predicted that God would not allow this to occur, and her statement proved true. The first man to approach her in the brothel was struck blind by a sudden flash of light, and others opted not to repeat his mistake.

    But one of the men who had at first sought to make Agnes his own, now lobbied the judge for her execution. In this respect, the suitor obtained his desire, when the public official sentenced her to die by beheading. The executioner gave her one last chance to spare her life, by renouncing her consecration to Christ – but Agnes refused, made a short prayer, and courageously submitted to death.

    St. Agnes, who died in 304, was venerated as a holy martyr from the fourth century onward. She is mentioned in the Latin Church's most traditional Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:44 AM.

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    Default 25 March - Feast of the Conversion of St Paul

    The Conversion of St. Paul


    St. Paul, known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, was born in the city of Tarsus, a Roman city, thereby giving him Roman citizenship. At his circumcision, he was given the Hebrew name Saul. At a young age his parents sent him to Jerusalem to be instructed in the Mosaic Law under the greatest Rabbi of his time, Gamaliel.

    Saul was an excellent student and as a Pharisee was respected for his great intellect and zeal for the Jewish faith and traditions. Because the Jews had a rule that their children should learn a trade along with their studies, Saul learned to make tents. This is a trade that provided him with the finances he needed later in his life to travel and evangelize. Because of Saul’s great zeal for Jewish law and traditions, he was very upset about his Jewish brethren who were following the New Way, as Christianity was first called. So, thinking that he was serving God, Saul became the worst enemy of Christians. He hunted them down and dragged them out of their homes, imprisoning them and even having them killed. In fact, Saul was a witness to the stoning of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. Because Saul was a leader, he stood by and watched as those stoning Stephen laid their cloaks at his feet. It’s very likely that Saul ordered Stephen to be stoned.

    Saint Luke’s recording of this story in his book of Acts is not merely an historical account. While drawing his last breath, Stephen called out to God to forgive those that were stoning him. St. Augustine later declared that had Stephen not prayed, the Church would have never had the great Apostle Paul. For it was Stephen’s prayer that planted the seed which later helped Saul on his path to conversion.

    Saul’s conversion occurred when he was on his way to the city of Damascus. He had gone to the high priest and the Sanhedrin for a commission to allow him to go where he knew there were many new Christians, to arrest them and take them back to Jerusalem for trial. The journey to Damascus took about two days by horseback. When he and his men were very near the city, they were suddenly surrounded by a light so bright that it knocked Saul to the ground. The account of what happened then is related in the book of Acts, chapter 9. “They heard a voice from heaven that said: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ And Saul said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul arose from the ground and when his eyes were opened he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

    “For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank. There was a disciple there named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying. And he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name.’

    “So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me that you may regain you sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized, and took food and was strengthened.” From that time forth, Saul went on to preach about Christ. Because he was so well-known as a Pharisee and was now evangelizing for Christ, Saul began being persecuted by his Jewish brethren in the same way he had been persecuting the Christians. At some point he decided to start using his Roman name, Paul.

    After spending some time with the disciples of Christ in Damascus, God called Paul to Arabia where he spent at least two years or more in the desert. It is believed that this is where Paul had visions much like the vision St. John writes about in his book of Revelation. The Lord prepared Paul to teach the Gospel, and when Paul returned from the desert, after a short stay in Damascus, he went directly to Jerusalem where he met with Peter, our first pope, and some of the other Apostles, to receive Peter’s blessing before he started on his ministry. Paul spent the rest of his life traveling and spreading the Gospel of Jesus, establishing churches and teaching others to lead in his absence. Paul’s epistles to the churches that he established make up over one-fourth of the New Testament. He truly is the greatest missionary in Church history.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:45 AM.

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    Default 28 January - Feast of St Thomas Aquinas

    Who was Saint Thomas Aquinas?


    In the middle of the 13th century, a young Catholic scholar made up his mind to join the newly formed Dominican order of monks. Though brilliant, the teen was also spectacularly ugly, suffering from obesity and edema, with one eye grotesquely larger than the other. He rarely spoke and was constantly drifting off into his own thoughts. His combination of size, ugliness, and perpetual silence led to the nickname “The Dumb Ox.” His family was so dead-set on keeping him out of the Dominican order that they kidnapped him and held him captive for more than year. Yet he persisted, becoming one of the greatest theologians of history, today known as Saint Thomas Aquinas.

    Thomas Aquinas’ contributions to philosophy and theology rank him among the most renowned thinkers of history. If Augustine was the first great scholar of the medieval period, Aquinas could be considered the last. His general outlook is known today as Thomism. He is remembered for his persuasive case for reconciling faith and reason; his “Five Ways” to prove the existence of God; an apologetics text titled Summa Contra Gentiles; and his massive work Summa Theologica (“Comprehensive Survey of Theology”).

    Thomas Aquinas worked to reconcile the prevailing philosophies of Aristotle and Plato with Christian theology. His conclusion was that reason and revelation (faith) are neither opposites nor in conflict. Rather, both philosophy and faith are necessary in order to truly comprehend anything. Aquinas also believed that certain ideas are better understood through reason than through revelation, and vice versa.

    Aquinas also held that there are a select few truths that reason can only uncover by applying a significant amount of time, intellect, and knowledge. Since few human beings have access to significant amounts of any of those three things, God chooses to reveal those select truths Himself and save us the work. Aquinas believed that human intellect was not affected by the Fall but that our will was, making revelation that much more necessary for certain truths to be known. Rather than seeing faith and reason as opposing each other, Aquinas saw them as intertwined and mutually supportive.

    Aquinas’ writings are still used as valuable resources on Christian thinking. His Summa Contra Gentiles was written to equip apologists for encounters with Muslims. Summa Theologica was his life’s work, a collection of his entire system of theology. Unfortunately, Aquinas died before he was able to finish the Summa. He also wrote volumes on dozens of different philosophical and theological topics.

    One of Thomas Aquinas’ most valuable contributions to theology is also one of the most misunderstood. His “Five Ways” of proving the existence of God are the First Mover Argument, the First Cause Argument, the Contingency (Necessity) Argument, the Ontological (Perfection) Argument, and the Teleological (Design) Argument. Contrary to popular belief, these are not the highest, deepest expressions of Aquinas’ theology, nor are they his view of the best or most powerful means to argue for the existence of God. Rather, these five arguments were Aquinas’ response to a request for a simplified, layman-friendly introduction to the defense of God’s existence. Many skeptics attack the Five Ways without realizing that they’re only the condensed versions of much more robust, sophisticated arguments.

    Aquinas’ popularity within Catholicism exploded during the Reformation, when his views were used to counter certain aspects of Protestant belief. Today, Aquinas is considered a saint of the Catholic Church. Despite his physical limitations and his early death (before his fiftieth birthday), Thomas Aquinas’ profound thinking is still being used, even today, to defend all aspects of Christianity.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:45 AM.

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    Default 1 February - Solemnity of the Blessed Benedict Daswa: The Saint who stood up to witchcraft

    Blessed Benedict Daswa: the Saint who stood up to witchcraft


    On Sunday (September 13) in South Africa Cardinal Angelo Amato declared Benedict Daswa a blessed and a martyr. Blessed Benedict Daswa was a handsome, smartly dressed South African who bore a striking resemblance to Sydney Poitier. The father of eight kids, Blessed Benedict Daswa worked as a school principal. Known as ‘a family man and martyr’, Blessed Benedict was savagely murdered because he opposed witch-craft and witch-hunts in his local area of Nweli.

    On February 2 1990, Blessed Benedict was driving home after bringing a bag of mealie meal (coarse flour made from maize) to a man in need. As he drove home, he found the road ahead of him was obstructed with stones and logs. When he got out of his car to investigate he was confronted by a group of attackers who showered him with stones. He ran, but his assailants chased him. When they had hunted him down, Blessed Benedict knew death was imminent and prayed, “Father, receive my spirit”, just before they struck him on the head with a club. His murderers tipped boiling water over his ears and nose to make sure not a trace of life remained in him. He was only 43.

    The reason that Blessed Benedict had such murderous enemies was because he was against employing sangomas, known euphemistically as “traditional doctors”. Whenever any of his fellow teachers spoke in favour of hiring a sangoma to engage in a witch-hunt, he would tell them off, saying, “I am surprised that you who are educated, instead of teaching people about the will of God, are taking them backwards.”

    Blessed Benedict was also against killing people who were suspected of being witches. Some of the so-called gifts of a sangoma is discerning who is a witch. In Blessed Benedict’s village, there was a move to hire a sangoma so that they would do the ritual of ‘casting the bones’ so they could ‘identify’ a witch.

    Blessed Benedict was adamant that he would not contribute any money towards hiring a sangoma to do a witch-hunt. He was articulate in explaining why: “[The sangoma] will ‘sniff out’ the so-called suspect and the villagers will kill that person as soon as the name is known.” That very week he was cruelly bludgeoned to death by those who feared he was influencing too many people to take a stand against the sangomas.

    I think that Blessed Benedict could become a great saint for people who are concerned that friends or family are abandoning the sacraments because they are intrigued by the New Age practices of those modern ‘white witches’, mediums and psychics. Also, remembering that he was slain because he opposed a witch-hunt, he would be the ideal intercessor for innocent people who are falsely accused of taking part in black magic. Lest we forget, St Joan of Arc was accused of witch-craft.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:45 AM.

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    Default Memorial of St Agatha - 5 February

    Memorial of St Agatha - 5 February


    St. Agatha died in defense of her purity, in Catania, Sicily, where she was born. After Quintanus, the governor of Sicily, tried in vain to force her to consent to sin, she was imprisoned for a month with an evil woman. He then turned from sensuality to cruelty and had her breasts cut off; but that night Agatha was healed by St. Peter. She was then rolled over sharp stones and burning coals, and finally taken to prison where she died while praying. Her name appears in the Roman Canon.

    It is impossible to write a historically reliable account of St. Agatha's life. The "Acts" of her martyrdom are legendary, dating from the sixth century.

    According to these sources Agatha was a Sicilian virgin of noble extraction. Quintianus, governor of Sicily, became deeply enamored of her; but she rejected his advances. As a result she was charged with being a Christian and brought before his tribunal. To the question concerning her origin she replied: "I am noble-born, of a distinguished family, as all my relatives will attest." When asked why she lived the servile life of a Christian, she answered: "I am a handmaid of Christ, and that is why I bear the outward appearance of a slave; yet this is the highest nobility, to be a slave to Christ." The governor threatened her with the most dreadful tortures if she did not renounce Christ. Agatha countered: "If you threaten me with wild beasts, know that at the Name of Christ they grow tame; if you use fire, from heaven angels will drop healing dew on me."

    After being tortured, "Agatha went to prison radiant with joy and with head held high as though invited to a festive banquet. And she commended her agony to the Lord in prayer." The next day, as she again stood before the judge, she declared: "If you do not cause my body to be torn to pieces by the hangmen, my soul cannot enter the Lord's paradise with the martyrs. She was then stretched on the rack, burned with red-hot irons, and despoiled of her breasts. During these tortures she prayed: "For love of chastity I am made to hang from a rack. Help me, O Lord my God, as they knife my breasts. Agatha rebuked the governor for his barbarity: "Godless, cruel, infamous tyrant, are you not ashamed to despoil a woman of that by which your own mother nursed you?"

    Returning to prison, she prayed: "You have seen, O Lord, my struggle, how I fought in the place of combat; but because I would not obey the commands of rulers, my breasts were lacerated." In the night there appeared to her a venerable old man, the apostle Peter, with healing remedies. Agatha, ever delicately modest, hesitated to show him her wounds. "I am the apostle of Christ; distrust me not, my daughter." To which she replied: "I have never used earthly medicines on my body. I cling to the Lord Jesus Christ, who renews all things by His word." She was miraculously healed by St. Peter: "Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I give you praise because by Your apostle You have restored my breasts." Throughout the night a light illumined the dungeon. When the guards fled in terror, her fellow prisoners urged her to escape but she refused: "Having received help from the Lord, I will persevere in confessing Him who healed me and comforted me."

    Four days later she was again led before the judge. He, of course, was amazed over her cure. Nevertheless, he insisted that she worship the gods; which prompted another confession of faith in Christ. Then by order of the governor, Agatha was rolled over pieces of sharp glass and burning coals. At that moment the whole city was rocked by a violent earthquake. Two walls collapsed, burying two of the governor's friends in the debris. Fearing a popular uprising, he ordered Agatha, half dead, to be returned to prison. Here she offered her dying prayer: "Blessed Agatha stood in the midst of the prison and with outstretched arms prayed to the Lord: O Lord Jesus Christ, good Master, I give You thanks that You granted me victory over the executioners' tortures. Grant now that I may happily dwell in Your never-ending glory." Thereupon she died.

    A year after her death the city of Catania was in great peril from an eruption on Mount Etna. Pagans, too, were numbered among those who fled in terror to the saint's grave. Her veil was taken and held against the onrushing flames, and suddenly the danger ceased. Her grave is venerated at Catania in Sicily.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:46 AM.

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    Default 11 February- Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

    11 February- Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes


    Today marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St. Bernadette) Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared eighteen times, and showed herself to St. Bernadette in the hollow of the rock at Lourdes. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

    The many miracles which have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin at Lourdes prompted the Church to institute a special commemorative feast, the "Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary." The Office gives the historical background. Four years after the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the Blessed Virgin appeared a number of times to a very poor and holy girl named Bernadette. The actual spot was in a grotto on the bank of the Gave River near Lourdes.

    The Immaculate Conception had a youthful appearance and was clothed in a pure white gown and mantle, with an azure blue girdle. A golden rose adorned each of her bare feet. On her first apparition, February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin bade the girl make the sign of the Cross piously and say the rosary with her. Bernadette saw her take the rosary that was hanging from her arms into her hands. This was repeated in subsequent apparitions.

    With childlike simplicity Bernadette once sprinkled holy water on the vision, fearing that it was a deception of the evil spirit; but the Blessed Virgin smiled pleasantly, and her face became even more lovely. The third time Mary appeared she invited the girl to come to the grotto daily for two weeks. Now she frequently spoke to Bernadette. On one occasion she ordered her to tell the ecclesiastical authorities to build a church on the spot and to organize processions. Bernadette also was told to drink and wash at the spring still hidden under the sand.

    Finally on the feast of the Annunciation, the beautiful Lady announced her name, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

    The report of cures occurring at the grotto spread quickly and the more it spread, the greater the number of Christians who visited the hallowed place. The publicity given these miraculous events on the one hand and the seeming sincerity and innocence of the girl on the other made it necessary for the bishop of Tarbes to institute a judicial inquiry. Four years later he declared the apparitions to be supernatural and permitted the public veneration of the Immaculate Conception in the grotto. Soon a chapel was erected, and since that time countless pilgrims come every year to Lourdes to fulfill promises or to beg graces.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:46 AM.

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    Default 23 February - Memorial of St Polycarp of Smyrna

    St. Polycarp of Smyrna


    On Feb. 23, the Catholic Church remembers the life and martyrdom of St. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle and evangelist St. John. Polycarp is celebrated on the same date by Eastern Orthodox Christians, who also honor him as a Saint.

    Polycarp is known to later generations primarily through the account of his martyrdom, rather than by a formal biography. However, it can be determined from that account that he was born around the year 69 AD. From the testimony he gave to his persecutors – stating he had served Christ for 86 years – it is clear that he was either raised as a Christian, or became one in his youth.

    Growing up among the Greek-speaking Christians of the Roman Empire, Polycarp received the teachings and recollections of individuals who had seen and known Jesus during his earthly life. This important connection – between Jesus' first disciples and apostles and their respective students – served to protect the Catholic Church against the influence of heresy during its earliest days, particularly against early attempts to deny Jesus' bodily incarnation and full humanity.

    Polycarp's most significant teacher, with whom he studied personally, was St. John – whose contributions to the Bible included not only the clearest indication of Jesus' eternal divinity, but also the strongest assertions of the human nature he assumed on behalf of mankind. By contrast, certain tendencies had already emerged among the first Christians – to deny the reality of Jesus' literal suffering, death, and resurrection, regarding them as mere "symbols" of highly abstract ideas.

    Another Catholic teacher of the second century, St. Irenaeus, wrote that Polycarp "was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ; but he was also, by apostles, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna." In a surviving letter that he wrote to the Philippians, he reminded that Church – which had also received the teaching of St. Paul – not to surrender their faith to the "gnostic" teachers claiming to teach a more intellectually refined gospel.

    "For every one who shall not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is antichrist," he wrote – citing St. John himself – "and whosoever shall not confess the testimony of the Cross, is of the devil; and whosoever shall pervert the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, that man is the firstborn of Satan."

    "Let us therefore, without ceasing, hold fast by our hope and by the pledge of our righteousness," Polycarp taught – as he went on to explain that both hope and righteousness depended upon "Jesus Christ, who took up our sins in His own body upon the cross." With eloquence and clarity, he reminded the Philippian Church that Christ, "for our sakes, endured all things – so that we might live in him."

    However, Polycarp's most eloquent testimony to his faith in Jesus came not through his words, but through his martyrdom, described in another early Christian work. The Church of Smyrna, in present-day Turkey, compiled their recollections of their bishop's death at the hands of public authorities in a letter to another local church.

    "We have written to you, brethren, as to what relates to the martyrs, and especially to the blessed Polycarp" – who, in the words of the Catholics of Smyrna, "put an end to the persecution – having, as it were, set a seal upon it by his martyrdom."

    Around the year 155, Polycarp became aware that government authorities were on the lookout for him, seeking to stamp out the Catholic Church's claim of obeying a higher authority than the Emperor. He retreated to a country house and occupied himself with constant prayer, before receiving a vision of his death that prompted him to inform his friends: "I must be burned alive." He changed locations, but was betrayed by a young man who knew his whereabouts and confessed under torture.

    He was captured on a Saturday evening by two public officials, who urged him to submit to the state demands. "What harm is there," one asked, "in saying, 'Caesar is Lord,' and in sacrificing to him, with the other ceremonies observed on such occasions, so as to make sure of safety?"

    "I shall not do as you advise me," he answered. Outraged by his response, the officials had him violently thrown from their chariot and taken to an arena for execution. Entering the stadium, the bishop – along with some of his companions, who survived to tell of it – heard a heavenly voice, saying: "Be strong, and show yourself a man, O Polycarp!"

    Before the crowd, the Roman proconsul demanded again that he worship the emperor.

    "Hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian," the bishop said. "And if you wish to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day, and you shall hear them."

    "You threaten me with fire," he continued "which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished. But you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly."

    "But," he challenged the proconsul, "what are you waiting for? Bring forth what you will."

    Although the crowds clamored for Polycarp to be devoured by beasts, it was decided he should be burned alive, just as he had prophesied. He prayed aloud to God: "May I be accepted this day before you as an acceptable sacrifice -- just as you, the ever-truthful God, have foreordained, revealed beforehand to me, and now have fulfilled."

    What happened next struck Polycarp's companions with amazement; they recorded the sight in the letter that they circulated after Polycarp's death.

    "As the flame blazed forth in great fury," they wrote, "we to whom it was given to witness it, beheld a great miracle." The fire did not seem to touch the bishop's body. Rather, as they described, "shaping itself into the form of an arch, it encompassed – as by a circle – the body of the martyr. And he appeared within not like flesh which is burnt, but as bread that is baked, or as gold and silver glowing in a furnace."

    "Moreover, we perceived such a sweet odour coming from the flames – as if frankincense or some such precious spices had been burning there."

    The executioners perceived that Polycarp's death was not going as planned. Losing patience, they ordered him to be stabbed to death.

    From the resulting wound, "there came forth a dove, and a great quantity of blood, so that the fire was extinguished."

    The crowd, as the Christian witnesses recalled, were understandably amazed.

    "All the people marveled," they wrote, "that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect." Polycarp, they proclaimed, had been among that elect – "having in our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna."

    St. Polycarp has been venerated as a Saint since his death in 155.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:46 AM.

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    Default 7 March - Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity and their Companions

    Sts. Perpetua and Felicity and their Companions


    The account of the martyrdom of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity forms one of the finest pages of the history of the first centuries of the Church. It shows us clearly the wonderful sentiments of these two women when they heard that they had been condemned to the wild beasts. Knowing their own weakness but relying on the strength of Christ, who was fighting with them, they went to their martyrdom as to a triumphant celebration, to which they were invited by Christ. They were exposed to the fury of wild beasts in the amphitheater at Carthage, A.D. 203, and finally killed by the sword. Their names are still mentioned together in the Roman Canon of the Mass.

    According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas which is now celebrated in the Ordinary Form on January 28.

    Vibia Perpetua, a well-to-do young woman and mother, and Felicitas, a slave who gave birth to a child three days before suffering a martyr's death, were catechumens. Against such prospective converts the persecution of Septimius Severus was particularly severe. These two holy women suffered death on the seventh of March in Carthage. The Breviary relates the following touching episode:

    Now the day had arrived when they were to be thrown to the wild beasts. Felicitas began to be sorrowful because she feared she would have to wait longer than her companions. For eight months she had been pregnant and therefore, according to Roman law, could not be executed before the birth of the child. But the prayers of her fellow sufferers hastened her time and she gave birth to a baby girl.

    While she was suffering from the pains of childbirth, one of the guards called out to her, "If you are suffering so much now, what will you do when you are thrown to the wild beasts?" "Now I suffer," she answered, "but there Another will be in me, who will suffer for me, because I will suffer for Him." When she was in travail she had sorrow, but when she was set before the wild beasts she rejoiced (Martyrology).

    Finally, on the seventh of March, these heroic women were led into the amphitheatre and severely scourged. Then they were tossed about by an exceptionally wild cow, gored, and thrown to the ground.

    Last edited by Kazimiera; 03-26-2019 at 06:47 AM.

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