From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

August 14th - Bl. Antony Primaldi and his Companions, Martyrs

In 1480, Turks under Mohammed II captured and pillaged the city of
Otranto in southern Italy, putting to the sword many of its
inhabitants and defenders. Some of these victims are regarded as
martyrs, principal among them being Bd Antony Primaldi (or Grimaldi)
and the eight hundred who suffered with him. He was an old man, an
artisan, and well known in the city as a good workman and a good
Christian.

When Turks rounded up those males who had escaped the first
massacre, sacking their houses and carrying off their wives, Antony
and the others were led out into a valley near the town, and offered
the restoration of their liberty, their wives and their goods if they
would apostatize and become Moslems. Antony, as spokesman for the
rest, replied that they confessed there was only one God, and that the
Lord Jesus Christ was His divine Son, and that on no account would
they abandon that faith. The Turkish general threatened them with
fearful torments and some began to waver, seeing which Antony loudly
appealed to them: "We have fought for our city and for our lives. Now
we must fight for our souls and for Jesus Christ; He died for us we
must die for him." The waverers rallied to him, and it was ordered
that all be beheaded.

Bl. Antony was the first to die, and it is said that his headless
body remained upright on its feet, as it were to encourage the others,
until all the rest were slain. The place where this massacre took
place is to this day called the Valley of the Martyrs, and there their
bodies lay unburied during the twelve months that the Turks occupied
the country. The cultus of these martyrs was confirmed in 1771.

There is a long account of these martyrs in the Acta Sanctorum,
August, vol. iii, under the heading "Martyres Hydruntini", at the end
of which the evidence of certain witnesses is printed in full.
Unfortunately these depositions were not taken until 1539, fifty-nine
years after the event. See also DHG., vol. iii, cc. 805-806, which
gives further references.


Saint Quote:
=E2=80=9CGod in his omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew = not
how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the Eucharist.=E2=80=9D
--Saint Augustine

Bible Quote:
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls. Jas 1:21 RSVCE


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Psalm 63: Ardent Longing for God

1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 They who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God's name will praise him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)