From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

November 18th - St. Romanus of Antioch, Martyr
(Also known as Romano)

THE passion of Romanus, a deacon of the church of Caesarea, is related
by Eusebius in his account of the martyrs of Palestine because, though
he suffered at Antioch, he was a native of Palestine. We have also a
panegyric of St. John Chrysostom on this saint, and a poem in his
honour by Prudentius. When the persecution of Diocletian broke out he
went about exhorting the faithful to stand firm; and at Antioch, in
the very court of the judge, observing certain Christian prisoners
about to sacrifice through fear, he cried out in rebuke and warning.
At once hands were laid on him and, after he had been scourged, the
judge condemned him to be burnt alive. The fire was put out by a heavy rainstorm, and the emperor, who was in the city, ordered the martyr=E2=80=
=99s
tongue to be plucked out by the roots. This was done, yet Romanus
still spoke, urging his hearers to love and worship the true and only
God. The emperor had him sent back to prison, his legs to be stretched
in the stocks to the fifth hole and his body raised off the ground. He
suffered this torture a long time, and finished his martyrdom by being strangled in prison.

Prudentius (who begs that, as he stood amongst the goats, he might by
the prayers of Romanus pass to the right hand and be placed amongst
the sheep) mentions an unnamed boy of seven who, encouraged by St.
Romanus, confessed one God, and was scourged and beheaded. Under the
name of Barula he is mentioned with St. Romanus in the Roman
Martyrology, but Eusebius says nothing about him.

In CMH. (pp. 605-606) Delehaye points out that besides the account in
Eusebius, the panegyric of St. John Chrysostom and the poem of
Prudentius, we have a very reliable testimony to the cult of St.
Romanus in the mention made of him in the Syriac breviarium of the
early fifth century. Furthermore, Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, at
the beginning of the sixth century was consecrated in a church
dedicated to him and preached several sermons in his honour.
Prudentius seems to have been the first to mention the boy com=C2=ADpanion.
The tangle is too complicated to discuss here, but Delehaye shows that
Barula almost certainly represents an authentic Syrian martyr,
Baralaha or Barlaam,( Nov. 19. see below) whose name by some
juxtaposition in the ancient lists became attached to that of Romanus.
See also the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii (1903), pp. 129-145 vol.
xxxviii (1920), pp. 241-284 and especially vol. 1 (1932), pp. 241-283.
In this last article Delehaye lays stress upon the important part
played in this development by the =E2=80=9CHomilia de Resurrectione=E2=80= =9D,=C2 which
A. Wilmart proved to be the work of Eusebius of Emesa (d. 359).


Saint Quote:
It is not the actual physical exertion that counts toward a man's
progress, nor the nature of the task, but the spirit of faith with
which it is undertaken.
-- Saint Francis Xavier

Bible Quote:
"How deserted she sits, the city once thronged with people! Once the
greatest of nations, she is now like a widow. Once the princess of
states, she is now put to forced labor. All night long she is weeping,
tears running down her cheeks. Not one of her lovers remains to
comfort her. Her friends have all betrayed her and become her enemies.
Judah has gone into exile...." [Lamentations 1:1-3a]


<><><><>
Invocation of Mary in time of Temptations

Haste, my Mother, run to help me;
Mother, haste, do not delay;
See from hell the envious serpent
Comes my trembling soul to slay.

Ah! his very look affrights me,
And his cruel rage I fear;
Whither fly, if he attacks me?
See him, see him coming near!

Lo! I faint away with terror,
For if yet thou dost delay.
He will dart at me his venom;
Then, alas! I am his prey.

Cries and tears have nought availed me,
Spite of all I see him there;
Saints I call till I am weary,
Still he stands with threatening air.

Now his mighty jaws are open,
And his forked tongue I see;
Ah! he coils to spring upon me--
Mother I hasten, make him flee.

Mary! yes, the name of Mary
Strikes with dread my cruel foe;
Straight he flees as from the sunbeam
Swiftly melts the winter's snow.

Now he's gone; but do thou ever
Stay beside me, Mother dear;
Then the hellish fiend to tempt me
Never more will venture near.



--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)