#Christian Martyrs

[bebx]

Christian Martyr Drowned in the Tiber During the Reign of Diocletian (1853)

— by Paul Delaroche

[crazycatsiren]

Blessed be this holy feast day (November 22) of the beloved St. Cecilia, my most dear patron saint. 🎹✝️

(Simon Vouet, “Saint Cecilia”, ca. 1626)

[beloved-of-john]

Happy Saint George's Day!

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint George, which is significant for many reasons, not least because he is the patron saint of my country. Happy birthday England? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

However, it's important when we turn to him as an inspiration and patron, that we aspire to the values he really represents. St. George has often been co-opted as a military figure, but it's worth remembering that he was put to death by the Roman army for criticising the cruelty of the emperor and for refusing to give up his faith and beliefs. He gave all his money to the poor before being sent to be tortured.

Even the legend of St. George and the dragon was not about seeing violence in itself as virtuous, but rather about fighting to save a town suffering drought and a woman facing violence, fighting for the health and freedom of others.

Saint George was indeed a soldier, but he was a soldier of Christ. Let us honour him for his devotion to the way of Christ and pray for a little of that great courage in our own lives.

A prayer for Saint George (taken from bookofheaven.dom)

St. George, Heroic Catholic soldier and defender of your Faith, you dared to criticize a tyrannical Emperor and were subjected to horrible torture.

You could have occupied a high military position but you preferred to die for your Lord.

Obtain for us the great grace of heroic Christian courage that should mark soldiers of Christ.

Amen.

[tragediambulante]

Christian martyrs, Domenico Morelli, 1851

[liivn]

Early Christian martyrs from the Rome catacombs - Paul Koudounaris (2015)

[straynoahide]

(via Pinterest, credit to Colin Rawlings)

[kecobe]

Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian Michiel Coxie I (Flemish; 1499–1592) 1575 Oil on panel Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), Antwerp, Belgium

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Benvenuto Tisi 'Garofalo' (Italian, 1481-1559) Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1522 “Jesus has now many lovers of the heavenly kingdom but few bearers of His cross.” - Thomas à Kempis, Imitation Of Christ

[abybweisse]

Ch199 (p1), Cover art and title page

Including cover, title page, credits, etc... we've got an official page count of 19.

Theo, a wren, a dying tree covered in parasitic mistletoe, and what seems to be a rather tall ladder.

Theodore means "gift of god". He's the top student in the highest-ranked class. The mistletoe I've discussed somewhat last month, since it's prominent there. A parasitic plant that sucks the nutrients from its host and can eventually kill the host. But it's seen as a symbol of good luck, longevity, and wisdom. And I was trying to figure out why Theo needs to be on this ladder, other than the fact he's so high up in the tree that its small and weakening branches couldn't support him. Then I recalled the cover for ch151:

Like Sebastian in ch111 being mirrored by Undertaker later in this chapter, real Ciel is being mirrored by Theo. I'd say this equates Theo more with the twin, our earl... as a temporary stand-in.

Of course, there is the reference to fledging, but Theo knows that that's not quite what the orphanage staff want him to think it means.

Then there's the wren. That was also discussed a bit last month within the fandom, because in ch198, one is shown holding a bit of mistletoe. The wren is a symbol of rebirth, immortality, and protection. In Celtic mythology, it's seen as the wise "king of birds". But also seen as the "old year", making the small bird something to hunt down and kill, in celebration of the upcoming new year; this would happen on Solstice Day. When Christianity moved into Celtic lands, the church twisted up stories about it, making it a tattle-tale on St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He was hiding in the bushes, but the wren gave away his location... so the wren must be killed, as a form of retaliation. And the celebration was moved to St. Stephen's Day.

I'd like to think we aren't quite that far along in December, but these top students seem to be playing-out "wren day" with Finny. Compared to one Celtic myth, the kids are like the birds competing to see who is "king", and the orphanage is set up to give that honor to Theo. But compared to the Catholic Church's twisted stories, Theo is seen as St. Stephen, intended to be a martyr, and the wren must be killed for its betrayal. Instead of hiding in the bushes, he's up in the top of a tree, staring at the wren who's about to give his whereabouts away.

Within the chapter itself, we will see the kids capture (instead of kill) and otherwise deal with their wren.... I'll go into more detail about the parallels when we get to them.

[lady-perpetua]

When you go about saying that there’s a massacre of trans people in the streets and the only way to stop it is violence against people you assume are at fault, you get demonic people like this who go to a CHRISTIAN SCHOOL to shoot up kids and staff people. 

Before any of you people try to defend this shooter, do you really want to associate them with your identity or group? That if one of you could go shoot up a Church or a Christian school then ALL OF YOU could? Is that the message you really want to send to people? That if Christians who don��t believe that you can change your sex or gender identity because God made us male and female then you need to respond with violence and death? That’s not an argument that’s a threat. By killing people you hate, you’re openly inviting not only the wrath of God but you’re inviting people who aren’t Christian but who’re definitely angry at entitled people who demand people change their way of speaking and seeing for the sake of feelings. 

God loves you. 

God loves every one of us. Jesus came to the world to die for our sins so we may join him in Heaven. When we accept him as our lord and savior we’re free from going to Hell. When we accept him as our lord and savior we’re free from paying the price of our sin because every one of us deserves Hell from the fact we’re all sinners. God doesn’t send anyone to hell, people choose to go to Hell when they reject Jesus. They choose to go to a place of eternal suffering and torment because they don’t want to accept Jesus’ love.

[battleforgodstruth]

Private Prayers for Morning & Evening & Other Times of the Day - John Bradford / Christian Martyr

▶️To adjust the playback speed of video: Click on Settings Click on Playback Speed Click on Custom to adjust playback speed in smaller increments ▶️TWITTER: https://twitter.com/RichMoo50267219 John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English Reformer, prebendary of St. Paul’s, and martyr. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stake on…

[fionamccall]

Piece of Samite, dating from the 9th-11th century AD, associated with the cult of the third-century Christian martyr Julian the Martyr, National Museum of Ravenna.

[masterofd1saster]

Feast of Saint Christopher Magallanes and Companions

The Mexican government murdered St Magallanes and 24 other Catholics. One died in 1915, the others between 1926 and 1928.

Three of them were laymen; the rest were diocesan priests. Two were hanged in the public square, and the rest were shot to death, most by a firing squad without a trial. Though many of them were falsely accused of supporting armed conflict against the government, the only crime of each priest was secretly ministering to the needs of the people. The three laymen were members of a Catholic action group that worked to oppose the government’s oppression of the Church and encouraged fellow Catholics to remain strong in their faith. Among these twenty-five martyrs, today’s memorial specifically mentions one by name: Saint Christopher Magallanes. Cristobal Magallanes Jara was born in Totatiche, Jalisco, Mexico to faith-filled parents who were farmers. As a child, Christopher helped work the land and tend the sheep. In 1888, at the age of nineteen, Christopher entered seminary and was ordained a priest eleven years later. He began his priestly ministry as a teacher in Guadalajara but shortly afterwards was appointed parish priest in his hometown where he served for more than twenty years.*** https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/21-may-saint-christopher-magallanes-and-companions-martyrs--optional-memorial/

Today, 21May24, is the Feast of St Christopher & Companions.

[troybeecham]

Today the Church remembers the Martyrs of Scillium.

Orate pro nobis.

The Scillitan Martyrs were a company of early North African Christians who suffered under Marcus Aurelius in A.D. 180, and whose Acta are at once the earliest documents of the Church of Africa and the earliest example of Christian Latin. The martyrs take their name from Scilla (or Scillium), a town in Numidia (Algeria). Their trial and execution took place in Carthage under the Pro-consul Vigellius Saturninus, whom Tertullian declares to have been the first persecutor of the Christians in Africa.

The date of their martyrdom is the 17th of July A.D. 180. It is thus the concluding scene of the persecution under Marcus Aurelius, which is best known from the sufferings of the churches of Vienne and Lyons in South Gaul. Marcus Aurelius died on the 17th of March of the year in question, and persecution ceased almost immediately upon the accession of his son Commodus. A group of sufferers called the Madaurian martyrs seems to belong to the same period: for in the correspondence of St Augustine, Namphamo, one of their number, is spoken of as “archimartyr,” which appears to mean protomartyr (first martyr) of Africa.

We have in this martyrdom an excellent example of “Acts of Martyrs” properly so called. The document is in brief legal form, beginning with the date and the names of the accused, and giving the actual dialogue between them and their judge. It closes with the sentence, based on “obstinate” persistency in an illicit (illegal) religion, and with the proclamation by the herald of the names of the offenders and the penalty. All this may quite well be a transcript of the Acta, or official report of the proceedings. A Christian appends the words: “ And so they all together were crowned with martyrdom; and they reign with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.”

The Scillitan sufferers were twelve in all—seven men and five women. Their names were Speratus, Nartzalus, Cintinus (Cittinus), Veturius, Felix, Aquilinus, Laetantius, Januaria, Generosa, Vestia, Donata, and Secunda. Two of these bear Punic (Carthaginian) names (Nartzalus, Cintinus), but the rest Latin names. Six had already been tried: of the remainder, to whom these Acta primarily relate, Speratus is the principal spokesman. He claims for himself and his companions that they have lived a quiet and moral life, paying their dues and doing no wrong to their neighbours. But when called upon to swear by the genius of the emperor, he replies: “I recognize not the empire of this world; but rather do I serve that God whom no man hath seen, nor with these eyes can see.” Here he uses the language of 1 Tim. vi. 16; and it is interesting also to note that in reply to the question, “What are the things in your satchel?” he says, “Books and letters of Paul, a just man.”

The dialogue between the Proconsul and the martyrs shows that the former entertained no prejudices against the Christians. He was simply upholding the laws of the empire and the official order of persecution of Christians. He exhorts them to comply with the law, and when they decline he suggests that they take time to think on the matter. The martyrs are offered a delay of thirty days to reconsider their decision, but this they all alike refuse. They were then put to death by the sword.

These Acts have been long known in an expanded form, or rather in a variety of later recension’s. The fame of the martyrs led to the building of a basilica in their honour at Carthage. Agobard, archbishop of Lyons (c. AD 779–840) stated that the relics of Speratus (along with those of another martyr named St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who was martyred under emperor Valerian in AD 258) were taken by Charlemagne's orders from Carthage to Lyons.

Almighty God, who gave to your servants Speratus, Nartzalus, Cintinus, Veturius, Felix, Aquilinus, Laetantius, Januaria, Generosa, Vestia, Donata, and Secunda boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

[fairylando]

San Sebastiano (1474) di Sandro Botticelli

[garlandedspirits]

Saint Catherine of Siena by Francesco Vanni (1563 - 1610)