And instead I went off on a mini-rant of my own.
I love reading the lives of the saints. Their lives and stories engage me. I can't fathom leading the lives that they lead. And what astounds me most is that they (with the exception of Angels, etc) were living, breathing people.
Aside from my patron saint of any representation of Mary, the mother of God or the many other St. Mary's that exist. St. Felicity is my other patron saint. I stumbled on this today on the Internets! I'd read the story recently, but I thought I'd save it somewhere, where I could find it quickly again.
St. Felicity and her Seven Sons:
Felicity was a noble Christian woman of Rome. She lived during the second century. After her husband's death, she served God by prayer and works of charity. Her good example led others to become Christians, too. This angered the pagan priests, who complained to Antoninus Pius, the emperor. They said Felicity was an enemy of the state because she was making the gods angry. So the emperor ordered Felicity arrested. Seven young men were arrested with her. It is believed that they were her sons. Like the mother of the Maccabees in the Old Testament, Felicity remained calm. The governor tried in vain to make her sacrifice to the gods. He ended with the words, "Unhappy woman, if you wish to die, die! But do not destroy your sons." "My sons will live forever if, like me, they scorn the idols and die for their God," Felicity answered. This brave woman was forced to watch her sons being put to death. One was whipped, two were beaten with clubs, three beheaded and another drowned. Four months later, Felicity, too, was beheaded. Her strength came from her great hope that she would be with God and her sons in heaven. St. Felicity, it could be said, was martyred eight different times. This is because she had to watch each of her sons die. Then she too gave up her life for Jesus. Today we pray for people who watch their loved-ones suffer physically or emotionally. May they feel the Risen Christ in their suffering.
I also noticed her patronage is to Mothers who’ve lost children.
2 comments:
Hi, my names Joe, lj totustuusmaria. I stumbled across your blog through a comment you wrote on another blog. I just want to comment on your mention of yourself living the lives of these Saints.
Something that's really become apparent to me recently is that the universal call to holiness doesn't mean that we make ourselves holy. It refers, rather, to God infusing His Divine Life within our Hearts drawing us up to the heights of perfection. We have to prepare ourselves, especially by denying our inclination to be too attached to things that aren't God and by softening our hearts to be receptive to God as a bride to her man, but ultimately it's up to God to pour into our hearts that particular grace: that type of prayer which is His Divine Self united to every single part of us: to our mind, our heart, and our will. I pray that you respond to God's grace to prepare yourself and be receptive to this life, and I pray that God chooses to draw you into it more and more, because you can't do it just as surely as I can't, but when God chooses to pour Himself into you in the most radical way imaginable, then you can do it because you no longer live as yourself, but He lives in you. God bless you!
Hi Joe,
Thanks for stopping by and your comments. This is my quiet corner on the Internet, but it's nice to be found.
Hopefully, in time I can truly articulate all the thoughts running through my head.
Maria
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