From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
July 10th - Saint Felicity and her Seven Sons, Martyrs
=C2 (d. 150)
Saint Felicity was a noble Roman matron, distinguished above all for
her virtue. This mother of seven children raised her sons in the fear
of the Lord, and after the death of her husband, served God in
continence, concerning herself only with good works. Her good examples
and those of her children brought a number of pagans to renounce their superstitions, and also encouraged the Christians to show themselves
worthy of their vocation. The pagan priests, furious at seeing their
gods abandoned, denounced her. She appeared with her pious sons before
the prefect of Rome, who exhorted her to sacrifice to idols, but in
reply heard a generous confession of faith.
=E2=80=9CWretched woman,=E2=80=9D he said to her, =E2=80=9Chow can you be s=
o barbarous as to
expose your children to torments and death? Have pity on these tender creatures, who are in the flower of their age and can aspire to the
highest positions in the Empire!=E2=80=9D Felicity replied, =E2=80=9CMy chi= ldren will
live eternally with Jesus Christ, if they are faithful; they will have
only eternal torments to await, if they sacrifice to idols. Your
apparent pity is but a cruel impiety.=E2=80=9D Then, turning to her childre=
n,
she said: =E2=80=9CLook towards heaven, where Jesus Christ is waiting for y=
ou
with His Saints! Be faithful in His love, and fight courageously for
your souls.=E2=80=9D
The Judge, taking the children one by one, tried to overcome their
constancy. He began with Januarius, but received for his answer: =E2=80=9CW= hat
you advise me to do is contrary to reason; Jesus, the Saviour, will
preserve me, I hope, from such impiety.=E2=80=9D Felix, the second, was the=
n
brought in. When they urged him to sacrifice, he answered: =E2=80=9CThere i=
s
only one God, and it is to Him that we must offer the sacrifice of our
hearts. Use all artifices, every refinement of cruelty, you will not
make us betray our faith!=E2=80=9D The other brothers, when questioned, answered with the same firmness. Martial, the youngest, who spoke
last, said: =E2=80=9CAll those who do not confess that Jesus Christ is the
true God, will be cast into a fire which will never be extinguished.=E2=80=
=9D
When the interrogation was finished, the Saints underwent the penalty
of the lash and then were taken to prison. Soon they completed their
sacrifice in various ways: Januarius was beaten until he died by
leather straps capped with lead; Felix and Philip were killed with
bludgeons; Sylvanus was thrown headfirst from a cliff; Alexander,
Vitalis and Martial were beheaded. Felicity, the mother of these new
Maccabees, was the last to suffer martyrdom.
Sources: Lives of the Saints for Every Day of the Year. (Reprint of
the work of John Gilmary Shea, with Appendix including recently
canonized Saints) (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1955.
Saint Quote:
=C2 [The devil] dreads fasting, prayer, humility, and good works: He is
not able even to stop my mouth who speak against him. The illusions of
the devil soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign
of the Cross. The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord,
by which He triumphed over and disarmed them.
--Saint Antony Abbot
Bible Quote:
=C2 ... "Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you; Moses gave
you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread
from heaven. For the bread of God is that which cometh down from
heaven and giveth life to the world. They said therefore unto him:
Lord, give us always this bread. And Jesus said to them: I am the
bread of life. He that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that
believeth in me shall never thirst. But I said unto you that you also
have seen me, and you believe not."=C2 [John 6:32-36]
<><><><>
There is an Important prayer which is called the "Jesus Prayer."
=C2 It should be recited devoutly every day and is as follows:
=C2 =C2 =C2 "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner."
=C2 When I say,"Hail Mary"
the heavens bow down,
the angels rejoice,
the earth jubilates,
hell trembles,
and the devils take flight!
St. Francis of Assisi
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