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Thecla
Thecla, a native of Iconium in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), in late antiquity became the most popular female saint
after Mary. A main pilgrimage shrine (Hagia Thekla) was established at Seleucia, and a community of female
virgins took up residence at its church. Devotion to Thecla quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean world,
and her popularity is evidenced by the range of material artifacts that bear her image (wall paintings, clay flasks,bronze crosses, wooden combs, stone reliefs, glass medallions, and textile curtains) and by the practice of naming
children after her. Her cult was officially suppressed by the Catholic Church in 1969she is thought never to have
existedand few but scholars are aware of her today.
From: Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds. (1885). Ante-Nicene Fathers to A.D. 325, vol. 8. New York:
Christian Literature Publishing Co.
http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-books/noncanonical-literature/noncanonical-literature-nt-acts/acts-of-
paul-and-thecla/
Paul having gone into the house of Onesiphorus,
there was great joy, and bending of knees, and
breaking of bread, and the word of God about self-control and the resurrection; Paul saying: "Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God: blessed5
are they that have kept the flesh chaste, for they
shall become a temple of God: blessed are they that
control themselves, for God shall speak with them:
blessed are they that have kept aloof from this
world, for they shall be called upright: blessed are10
they that have wives as not having them, for they
shall receive God for their portion . . . "
While Paul was thus speaking in the midst of the
church in the house of Onesiphorus, a certain virgin
Thecla, the daughter of Theocleia, betrothed to a15
man named Thamyris, sitting at the window close
by, listened night and day to the discourse of
virginity and prayer, and did not look away from the
window, but paid earnest heed to the faith, rejoicing
exceedingly. When she still saw many women going20
in beside Paul, she also had an eager desire to be
deemed worthy to stand in the presence of Paul, and
to hear the word of Christ; for never had she seen
his figure, but heard his word only.
As she did not stand away from the window, her25
mother sends to Thamyris; and he comes gladly, as if
already receiving her in marriage. Theocleia said: "I
have a strange story to tell thee, Thamyris; for
assuredly for three days and three nights Thecla
does not rise from the window, neither to eat nor to30
drink; but looking earnestly as if upon some pleasant
sight, she is so devoted to a foreigner teaching
deceitful and artful discourses, that I wonder how a
virgin of such modesty is so painfully put about.
Thamyris, this man will overturn the city of the35
Iconians, and thy Thecla too besides; for all the
women and the young men go in beside him, being
taught to fear God and to live in chastity. Moreover
also my daughter, tied to the window like a spider,
lays hold of what is said by Paul with a strange40
eagerness and awful emotion; for the virgin looks
eagerly at what is said by him, and has been
captivated. But do thou go near and speak to her, for
she has been betrothed to thee."
Thamyris going near, and kissing her, but at the45
same time also being afraid of her overpowering
emotion, said: "Thecla, my betrothed, why dost thou
sit thus and what sort of feeling holds thee
overpowered? Turn round to thy Thamyris, and be
ashamed. . . . " [But] Thecla did not turn round, but50
kept attending earnestly to the word of Paul.
[Thamyris has Paul thrown into jail on charges of
corruption, namely "leading astray the souls of
young men and deceiving virgins."] Thecla by night,
having taken off her bracelets, gave them to the55
gatekeeper; and the door having been opened to
her, she went into the prison; and having given the
jailor a silver mirror, she went in beside Paul, and,
sitting at his feet, she heard the great things of God.
Paul was afraid of nothing, but ordered his life in the60
confidence of God. Her faith also was increased, and
she kissed his bonds.
When Thecla was sought for by her friends, and
Thamyris, as if she had been lost, was running up
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and down the streets, one of the gatekeeper's65
fellow-slaves informed him that she had gone out by
night. Having gone out, they examined the
gatekeeper; and he said to them: "She has gone to
the foreigner into the prison." Having gone, they
found her, as it were, enchained by affection. Having70
gone forth thence, they drew the multitudes
together, and informed the governor of the
circumstance. He ordered Paul to be brought to the
tribunal; but Thecla was wallowing on the ground in
the place where he sat and taught her in the prison;75
and he ordered her too to be brought to the
tribunal. She came, exulting with joy. The crowd,
when Paul had been brought, vehemently cried out:
"He is a magician! away with him!" But the
proconsul gladly heard Paul upon the holy works of80
Christ. Having called a council, he summoned Thecla,and said to her: "Why dost thou not obey Thamyris,
according to the law of the Iconians?" But she stood
looking earnestly at Paul. When she gave no answer,
her mother cried out, saying: "Burn the wicked85
wretch; burn in the midst of the theatre her that will
not marry, in order that all the women that have
been taught by this man may be afraid."
The governor was greatly moved; and having
scourged Paul, he cast him out of the city, and90
condemned Thecla to be burned. Immediately the
governor went away to the theatre, and all thecrowd went forth to the spectacle of Thecla. But as a
lamb in the wilderness looks round for the shepherd,
so she kept searching for Paul. Having looked upon95
the crowd, she saw the Lord sitting in the likeness of
Paul, and said: "As I am unable to endure my lot,
Paul has come to see me." She gazed upon him with
great earnestness, and he went up into heaven. But
the maid-servants and virgins brought the faggots, in100
order that Thecla might be burned. When she came
in naked, the governor wept, and wondered at the
power that was in her. The public executionersarranged the faggots for her to go up on the pile.
She, having made the sign of the cross, went up on105
the faggots; and they lighted them. Though a great
fire was blazing, it did not touch her; for God, having
compassion upon her, made an underground
rumbling, and a cloud overshadowed them from
above, full of water and hail; and all that was in the110
cavity of it was poured out, so that many were in
danger of death. The fire was put out, and Thecla
saved.
[She goes to rejoin Paul.] Thecla said to Paul: "I
shall cut my hair, and follow thee whithersoever115
thou mayst go." He said: "It is a shameless age, andthou art beautiful. I am afraid lest another
temptation come upon thee worse than the first,
and that thou withstand it not, but be cowardly."
Thecla said: "Only give me the seal in Christ, and120
temptation shall not touch me." Paul said: "Thecla,
wait with patience, and thou shalt receive the
water."
Paul sent away Onesiphorus and all his house to
Iconium; and thus, having taken Thecla, he went into125
Antioch. As they were going in, a certain Syriarch,
Alexander by name, seeing Thecla, becameenamoured of her, and tried to gain over Paul by
gifts and presents. But Paul said: "I know not the
woman whom thou speakest of, nor is she mine."130
But he, being of great power, himself embraced her
in the street. But she would not endure it, but
looked about for Paul. She cried out bitterly, saying:
"Do not force the stranger; do not force the servant
of God. I am one of the chief persons of the Iconians;135
and because I would not have Thamyris, I have been
cast out of the city." Taking hold of Alexander, she
tore his cloak, and pulled off his crown, and madehim a laughing-stock. He, at the same time loving
her, and at the same time ashamed of what had140
happened, led her before the governor; and when
she had confessed that she had done these things,
he condemned her to the wild beasts. The women
were struck with astonishment, and cried out beside
the tribunal: "Evil judgment! impious judgment!" She145
asked the governor, that, said she, "I may remain
pure until I shall fight with the wild beasts." A certain
Tryphaena, whose daughter was dead, took her into
keeping, and had her for a consolation. . . .[The next morning at dawn, Thecla is brought to150
the arena.] Thecla, having been taken out of the
hand of Tryphaena, was stripped, and received a
girdle, and was thrown into the arena, and lions and
bears and a fierce lioness were let loose upon her;
and the lioness having run up to her feet, lay down;155
and the multitude of the women cried aloud. A bear
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ran upon her; but the lioness, meeting the bear, tore
her to pieces. Again a lion that had been trained
against men, which belonged to Alexander, ran upon
her; and she, the lioness, encountering the lion, was160
killed along with him. The women made great
lamentation, since also the lioness, her protector,was dead.
Then they send in many wild beasts, she standing
and stretching forth her hands, and praying. When165
she had finished her prayer, she turned and saw a
ditch full of water, and said: "Now it is time to wash
myself." She threw herself in, saying: "In the name of
Jesus Christ I am baptized on my last day." The
women seeing, and the multitude, wept, saying: "Do170
not throw thyself into the water"; so that also the
governor shed tears, because the seals were going to
devour such beauty. She then threw herself in thename of Jesus Christ; but the seals having seen the
glare of the fire of lightning, floated about dead.175
There was round her, as she was naked, a cloud of
fire; so that neither could the wild beasts touch her,
nor could she be seen naked.
The women, when other wild beasts were being
thrown in, wailed. Some threw sweet-smelling180
herbs, others nard, others cassia, others amomum,
so that there was abundance of perfumes. All the
wild beasts that had been thrown in, as if they had
been withheld by sleep, did not touch her; so thatAlexander said to the governor: "I have bulls185
exceedingly terrible; let us bind to them her that is
to fight with the beasts." The governor, looking
gloomy, turned, and said: "Do what thou wilt." They
bound her by the feet between them, and put red-
hot irons under the privy parts of the bulls, so that190
they, being rendered more furious, might kill her.
They rushed about, therefore; but the burning flame
consumed the ropes, and she was as if she had not
been bound. But Tryphaena fainted standing beside
the arena, so that the crowd said: "Queen Tryphaena195
is dead." The governor put a stop to the games, and
the city was in dismay. And Alexander entreated the
governor, saying: "Have mercy both on me and the
city, and release this woman. For if Caesar hear of
these things, he will speedily destroy the city also200
along with us, because his kinswoman Queen
Tryphaena has died."
The governor summoned Thecla out of the midst
of the wild beasts, and said to her: "Who art thou
and what is there about thee, that not one of the205
wild beasts touches thee?" She said: "I indeed am a
servant of the living God; and as to what there is
about me, I have believed in the Son of God, inwhom He is well pleased; wherefore not one of the
beasts has touched me. For He alone is the end of210
salvation, and the basis of immortal life; for He is a
refuge to the tempest-tossed, a solace to the
afflicted, a shelter to the despairing; and, once for
all, whoever shall not believe on Him, shall not live
for ever."215
The governor having heard this, ordered her
garments to be brought, and to be put on. Thecla
said: "He that clothed me naked among the wild
beasts, will in the day of judgment clothe thee withsalvation." Taking the garments, she put them on.220
The governor therefore immediately issued an edict,
saying: "I release to you the God-fearing Thecla, the
servant of God." The women shouted aloud, and
with one mouth returned thanks to God, saying:
"There is one God, the God of Thecla"; so that the225
foundations of the theatre were shaken by their
voice. Tryphaena having received the good news,
went to meet the holy Thecla, and said: "Now I
believe that the dead are raised: now I believe that
my child lives. Come within, and I shall assign to thee230
all that is mine." She therefore went in along with
her, and rested eight days, having instructed her in
the word of God, so that most even of the maid-
servants believed. There was great joy in the house.
Thecla kept seeking Paul; and it was told her that235
he was in Myra of Lycia. Taking young men and
maidens, she girded herself; and having sewed the
tunic so as to make a man's cloak, she came to Myra,
and found Paul speaking the word of God. Paul was
astonished at seeing her, and the crowd with her,240
thinking that some new trial was coming upon her.When she saw him, she said: "I have received the
baptism, Paul; for He that wrought along with thee
for the Gospel has wrought in me also for baptism."
Paul, taking her, led her to the house of Hermaeus,245
and hears everything from her, so that those that
heard greatly wondered, and were comforted, and
prayed over Tryphaena. She rose up, and said: "I am
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going to Iconium." Paul said: "Go, and teach the
word of God." Tryphaena sent her much clothing250
and gold, so that she left to Paul many things for the
service of the poor.
[At age eighteen, Thecla withdraws to a cave near
Seleucia, where she spends the remainder of herlive, seventy-two years, living as an ascetic and255
preaching the word of God. Eventually, the
townsmen send out "insolent young men to destroy
her." When the rapists hold down the ninety-year-
old virgin, she prays, and a rock opens up to take her
in and closes behind her, leaving only a piece of her260
veil behind.]
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Lucy (Lucia) of Syracuse
St. Lucy's day is celebrated on December 13. All that is really known for certain of Lucy is that she was a martyr
in Syracuse, Sicily, during the Diocletian persecutions of 304 CE. Her veneration spread to Rome, and by the 6ct to
the whole Church. According to the traditional story, she was born c.283. Her father, a Roman aristocrat, died
early, leaving his riches to her mother, Eutychia, a Greek woman. At age fourteen, Lucy was betrothed by her
mother to a young pagan nobleman, but Lucy had consecrated her virginity to God, and she hoped her mother
would devote all their worldly goods to the service of the poor. When Eutychia contracted a painful disease, Lucy
persuaded her to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Agatha, a martyr who had been executed some fifty years
earlier in nearby Catania.
From: Walter W. Skeat, ed. (1881).lfric's Lives of Saints. Early English Text Society, original series, vol. 76.
London: N. Trbner. (lfric was an English abbot who wrote c. 996).
Then Agatha's renown spread over land and sea,
so that a great multitude out of Syracuse sought
the virgin's tomb, from a distance of fifty miles,
in the city of Catania, with great devotion.
Then came a certain widow, named Eutychia,5
amongst other people, to the famous tomb,
and her daughter with her, the blessed Lucy.
The widow was diseased, so that she had a flux of
blood
for the space of four years, and had tried many10
physicians,
but all of them could not help her, though she was
but one.1
Then it happened, at the mass, that the gospel was
read15
how the woman was healed that had a flux of blood,
when she touched the Saviour's robe.
Then said Lucy, full of faith, to her mother,
"If thou believest, mother, this well-known gospel,
believe that Agatha has merited something from20
Christ,
since she suffered for His name that she might ever
behold Him in her presence, in eternal bliss.
Touch now her tomb, and thou shalt soon be
whole."25
Then, after the mass, the mother and daughter
prostrated themselves in prayers at the tomb.
[Lucy has a vision of Agatha who tells her she will be
as famous in Syracuse as Agatha is in Catania.]
She rose then trembling because of that bright30
vision,
1Meaning, manyphysicians could not heal one patient.
and said to her mother, "Thou art mightily healed.
Now I pray thee, by that same One who healed thee
by prayers,
that thou never name to me any bridegroom,35
nor expect of my body any mortal fruit,
but, as for the property that thou wouldst give me
for my pollution,
give it me for my chastity, as I am going to Christ."
Then said the mother, "Thou knowest my wealth,40
and I have kept now for nine years against all losses
thy father's property, and have increased it further.
First close mine eyes (in death), and then dispose of
the property
lo! how thou mayst please, my dear daughter."45
Then said Lucy, "Listen to my counsel;
thou canst take away nothing with thee out of this
life,
and that which thou wilt give at death for the Lord's
name50
thou wilt give because thou canst not take it away
with thee.
But give now, in thy time of health, to the true
Saviour
whatever thou intendest to dispose of at thy death."55
Thus Lucy frequently exhorted her mother,
until she sold the shining gems,
and even her landed property for ready money,
and afterwards distributed it to the poor and to
strangers,60
to widows and exiles, and wise servants of God.
This came to the ears of the nobly-born youth
who was wooing Lucy, who was named Paschasius,
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an impious idolater, who enticed the holy maid
to make offerings to devils; but the Lord's virgin said,65
"A pure offering is this, and acceptable to God,
that one should visit widows, and comfort exiles,
and help orphan children in their affliction.
I have not for three years been employed about anyother deeds,70
but have offered these offerings to the living Lord.
Now I desire verily to offer to Him myself,
because for some time I have had nothing to spend
in His service."
Then was Paschasius wroth, and they spake much,75
until he promised her a beating if she would not be
silent.
Lucy said to him, "The words of the living God
cannot be suppressed, nor put to silence."
[Paschasius threatens to send her off to a brothel80where she'll lose her maidenhood, saying the Holy
Ghost will leave her then due to the impurity of her
body.]
Lucy thus answered, "No one's body is dangerously
polluted, if it pleases not the (possessor's) mind.85
Though thou shouldst lift up my hand to thine idol,
and so, by my means, offer against my will,
I shall still be guiltless in the sight of the true God,
who judges according to the will, and knoweth all
things.90
If now, against my will, thou causest me to bepolluted,
a twofold purity shall be gloriously imputed to me.
Thou canst not bend my will to thy purpose;
whatever thou mayest do to my body, that cannot95
happen to me."
Then the cruel one desired to fulfil his word,
that she might be led to loathsome pollution,
and began to drag her to the house of lust;
but God's might was displayed at once in the100
maiden,
so that the Holy Ghost held her, and fastened her asby a great weight,
so that the wicked ones could not remove the
maiden.105
Then they fastened ropes, in their cruel attempt,
to her hands and feet, and many tugged at once,
but she was never stirred, but stood firm as a
mountain.
Then was the impious Paschasius perplexed,110
and bade false magicians be brought unto him,
that they with their enchantments might overpower
the virgin of God.
But when they sped not at all, he commanded oxen
to be harnessed to her,115
but they could not even so shake the maiden.
The murderer then said to the pure maid,
"What is the reason that a thousand men
cannot even stir thee, all weak as thou art?"
Lucy said to him, "Though thou call ten thousand120
men,
they would all hear the Holy Ghost thus speaking:
Cadent a latere tuo mille, et decem millia a dextris
tuis, tibi autem non apropinquabit malum.
A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand125
at thy right handbut verily no evil shall approach thyself."
Then was the impious one perplexed in his mind yet
more,
and bade men light a great pile all round the maid,130
and sprinkle her with pitch and bespattering oil.
She stood then undismayed in the fire, and said,
"I have obtained of Christ in prayer that this deadly
fire
may have no power upon me, that thou mayst be135
put to shame,
and that it may dispel all fear of torture frombelievers,
and take away from unbelievers their evil joy."
Then was the impious one madly vexed,140
so that his friends could not assuage his madness;
but they bade men kill the pure maid with the
sword.
Then was she wounded, so that her bowels fell out,
nevertheless she died not, but continued in prayer145
as long as she desired, and said to the people,
"I tell you of a verity that peace is granted
to God's congregation, and the furious emperorDiocletian is deposed from his empire,
and Maximian the evil-doer is dead.150
Even as the city of Catania within its walls
has the powerful intercessions of my sister Agatha,
so am I allotted by Almighty God
now to this city of Syracuse,
to intercede for you, if ye receive the faith."155
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Whilst she thus spake, the wicked Paschasius
was bound with chains, and led before the virgin.
He had previously been accused, for his cruel deeds,
to the Roman people, who governed all the land.
He was then brought in bonds to Rome,160
and the senators commanded him to be beheaded,when he could not excuse his evil deeds.
The blessed Lucy remained in the same place
where she was struck down, until priests came
and houselled her with the holy mysteries,165
and she departed to Christ as they were saying
"Amen."
Then the people reared a church on the spot where
she lay,
and hallowed it in her name, to the Saviour's glory,170
who ever reigneth as God throughout eternity.
Amen.
A different legend has it that a young man was in love with Lucy, always telling her that her beautiful eyes gave him
no rest and made him want her. She recalled the words of Christ, "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out," and afraid
that her eyes would lead him to violence and perdition, she cut her eyes out with a knife and sent them to him in a
dish. Filled with remorse and admiration, her lover converted to Christianity and became a model of virtue. Lucy's
faith was rewarded by the restoration of her eyes, more beautiful than ever. A third legend of St. Lucy is that she
suffered martyrdom by having her eyes gouged out.
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Barbara
Barbara was born, raised, and died (c.267) in Nicomedia, Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Because of doubts
concerning the historicity of her legend, she was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church in
1969. Her feast day was December 4, in the Eastern Orthodox Church December 17. "While she is most commonly
depicted holding a tower, she is also one of the few women saints who is sometimes pictured holding the
eucharistic elements, a chalice and host. A person in danger of dying without receiving the last rites from a priest
may pray for Barbara's intercession, and it's taken care of; she substitutes for the priest and the sacrament itself"
(Kathleen Norris, The Cloister Walk, p. 197).
From: William Caxton (1483). The Golden Legend, or Lives of the Saints. Transl. F.S. Ellis. London: Constable, 1900.
http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/goldenLegend/barbara.htm
HERE BEGINNETH THE LIFE OF ST. BARBARA
In the time that Maximian reigned there was a rich
man, a paynim [pagan], which adored and
worshipped the idols, which man was named
Dioscorus. This Dioscorus had a young daughter5
which was named Barbara, for whom he did do
make a high and strong tower in which he did do
keep and close this Barbara, to the end that no man
should see her because of her great beauty. Then
came many princes unto the said Dioscorus for to10
treat with him for the marriage of his daughter,
which went anon unto her and said: "My daughter,
certain princes be come to me which require me for
to have thee in marriage, wherefore tell to me thine
entent and what will ye have to do."15
Then St. Barbara returned all angry towards her
father and said: "My father, I pray you that ye will
not constrain me to marry, for thereto I have no will
ne thought."
[Before going on a journey, Dioscorus has a20
"cistern," a private bathhouse, erected for his
daughter. During his absence, Barbara asks the
workers to put in three windows rather than the
original two, a symbol of the Trinity.]
In this same cistern was this holy maid baptized of25
a holy man, and lived there a certain space of time,
in taking only for her refection honeysuckles and
locusts, following the holy precursor of our Lord, St.
John Baptist. . . .
[The father returns to find the three windows in30
place. He asks his daughter for an explanation.] And
St. Barbara answered: "These three fenestres or
windows betoken clearly the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, the which be three persons and one
very God, on whom we ought to believe and35
worship."
Then he being replenished with furor, incontinent
drew his sword to have slain her, but the holy virgin
made her prayer and then marvellously she was
taken in a stone and borne into a mountain on which40
two shepherds kept their sheep, the which saw her
fly. And then her father, which pursued after her,
went unto the shepherds and demanded after her.
And that one, which would have preserved her, said
that he had not seen her, but that other, which was45
an evil man, showed and pointed her with his finger,
whom the holy St. Barbara cursed, and anon his
sheep became locusts, and he consumed into a
stone.
And then her father took her by the hair and drew50
her down from the mountain and shut her fast in
prison, and made her to be kept there by his
servants unto the time that he had sent to the judge
for to deliver her to the torments.
And when the judge was advertised of the faith55
and belief of the maid he did her to be brought
tofore him. Her father went with her, accompanied
with his servants threatening her with his sword, and
delivered her unto the judge, and conjured him, by
the puissance of his gods that, he should torment60
her with horrible torments.
ST. BARBARA BEFORE THE PAGAN JUDGE
Then sat the judge in judgment, and when he saw
the great beauty of St. Barbara, he said to her: "Now
choose whether ye will spare yourself and offer to65
the gods, or else die by cruel torments."
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St. Barbara answered to him: "I offer myself to my
God, Jesu Christ, the which hath created heaven and
earth and all other things, and fie on your devils,
which have mouths and cannot speak, they have70
eyes, and cannot see, they have ears, and hear not,
they have noses, and smell not, they have hands,and may not feel, and they have feet, and may not
go, they that make them, be they made semblable to
them, and all they that have fiance [faith] and belief75
in them."
Then became the judge all wood and angry, and
commanded to unclothe her and beat her with
sinews of bulls, and frot her flesh with salt, and
when she had long endured this, that her body was80
all bloody, the judge did do close her in a prison unto
the time that he had deliberated of what torments
he might make her die.And then at midnight descended a great light and
clearness into the prison in which our Lord showed85
him to her, saying: "Barbara, have confidence, and
be firm and steadfast, for in heaven and in the earth
thou shalt have great joy for thy passion, therefore,
doubt not the judge, for I shall be with thee, and I
shall deliver thee from all thy pains that any shall90
make thee suffer."
And incontinent she was all whole. And then,
when our Lord had said thus, he blessed her and
remounted into heaven.[The following morning,] the judge, replenished of95
ire, commanded that she should be hanged between
two forked trees, and that they should break her
reins with staves, and burn her sides with burning
lamps, and after he made her strongly to be beaten,
and hurted her head with a mallet. Then St. Barbara100
beheld and looked upward to heaven, saying: "Jesu
Christ, that knowest the hearts of men, and knowest
my thought, I beseech thee to leave me not."
Then commanded the judge to the hangman that
he should cut off with his sword her paps, and when105
they were cut off, the holy saint looked again
towards heaven, saying: "Jesu Christ, turn not thy
visage from me."
And when she had long endured this pain, the
judge commanded that she should be led with110
beating through the streets, and the holy virgin the
third time beheld the heaven, and said: "Lord God,
that coverest heaven with clouds, I pray thee to
cover my body, to the end that it be not seen of the
evil people."115
And when she had made her prayer, our Lord
came over her, and sent to her an angel which cladher with a white vestment, and the knights led her
unto a town called Dallasion, and there the judge
commanded to slay her with the sword. And then120
her father all araged took her out of the hands of the
judge and led her up on a mountain, and St. Barbara
rejoiced her in hasting to receive the salary of her
victory.
HER HOLY DEATH125
And then when she was drawn thither she made her
orison, saying: "Lord Jesu Christ, which hast formed
heaven and earth, I beseech thee to grant me thy
grace and hear my prayer, that all they that have
memory of thy name and my passion, I pray thee130
that thou wilt not remember their sins, for thou
knowest our fragility."
Then came there a voice down from heaven saying
unto her: Come, my spouse Barbara, and rest in the
chamber of God my Father, which is in heaven, and I135
grant to thee that thou hast required of me.
And when this was said, she came to her father
and received the end of her martyrdom with St.
Julian. But when her father descended from the
mountain, a fire from heaven descended on him,140
and consumed him in such wise that there could not
be found only ashes of all his body.
This blessed virgin St. Barbara received martyrdom
with St. Julian the second nones of December. A
noble man called Valentine buried the bodies of145
these two martyrs, and laid them in a little town in
which many miracles were showed in the louing
[praise] and glory of God Almighty. And St. Barbara,
the holy martyr suffered passion in the time of
Maximian, emperor of Rome, and Marcian the judge.150
Whom we pray and beseech to be our advocatrix
unto Almighty God, that by her merits he bring us
after this short and transitory life into his glory
perdurable. Amen.
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Juthwara
Juthwara: virgin (and martyr?), was British, perhaps
from Cornwall. Her brother was said to be PaulAurelian and her sisters Sidwell of Exeter and
Wulvela of Cornwall. Her relics were translated to
Sherborne under lfwald II (104558). These seem
to be the most certain facts about her: her Legend in
N.L.A. is a farrago of impossibilities. According to this
story, as in the Legend of Sidwell, she was the victim
of a jealous stepmother. Juthwara, a pious girl who
practised much prayer, fasting, and almsgiving,
suffered after her father's death from a pain in the
chest, brought on perhaps by her sorrow and
austerities. The stepmother recommended as aremedy two cheeses applied to her breasts;
meanwhile, she told her own wicked son called Bana
that Juthwara was pregnant. He accused her, found
her underclothes were moist, and struck off her
head there and then. The usual spring of water thenappeared; Juthwara carried her head back to the
church; Bana repented, became a monk, and
founded a monastery of Gerber (later called Le
Relecq) on a British battlefield. The place of
Juthwara's death may have been Lanteglos by
Camelford (Cornwall), where the church, now St
Julitta's, may originally have been Juthwara's. The
neighbouring parish of Lancast is dedicated to her
sisters. She is depicted with her sister Sidwell on the
screens of Hennock and Ashton (Devon); her usual
emblem is a cream-cheese or a sword. A latemedieval statue at Guizeny (Brittany) shows her
holding her head in her hand. Feast: 28 November,
translation, 13 July.
Wilgefortis
The curious legend of Wilgefortis [also called
Uncumber, Liberata, or Kummernis] has its roots in a
story recounted by Gregory the Great. In itsdeveloped form, Wilgefortis was a septuplet of a
pagan king of Portugal; together with her brothers
and sisters she became a Christian and suffered
martyrdom. Her father wanted her to marry the king
of Sicily, but she had taken a vow of virginity. So she
prayed to become unattractive: the result was that a
moustache and beard grew on her face and her
suitor withdrew. Her father accordingly had her
crucified: while on the cross she prayed that all who
remembered her passion should be liberated from
all encumbrances and troubles. . . . The English
custom of offering oats at her statue was rightly
derided by Thomas More: "Whereof I cannot
perceive the reason, but if it be because she should
provide a horse for an evil husband to ride to the
devil upon, for that is the thing that she is so sought
for, as they say. Insomuch that women havetherefore changed her name and instead of Saint
Wilgeforte call her Saint Uncumber, because that
they reckon that for a peck of oats she will not fail to
uncumber them of their husbands." . . . A statue of
Wilgefortis survives in Henry VII Chapel,
Westminster Abbey. It seems that the cult originated
in 14th-century Flanders, with feast on 20 July.
The legend of Wilgefortis is sometimes explained
as an attempt to account for the clothed and
bearded figure of Christ on the Cross. In our own day
some doctors have speculated on the connection
between anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls and
the growth of hair in unusual parts of the body.
From: David Hugh Farmer (2011). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 5th rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford UP.
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Maria Goretti
Goretti was an Italian peasant girl from a village near Ancona. Her father died when she was ten. At age twelve
she was assaulted by a neighboring teenager. She was canonized in 1950, the first virgin martyr declared such by
the church for defending her chastity rather than her faith. Her mother was present at her canonization, the first
time a parent was present for a child's canonization. St. Maria Goretti's feast is on July 6.
From: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2012-07-06
St. Maria Goretti was born of a poor family in
Corinaldi, Italy, in 1890. Near Nettuno she spent a
difficult childhood assisting her mother in domestic
duties. She was of a pious nature and often at
prayer. In 1902 she was stabbed to death, preferring
to die rather than be raped. (Office of Readings)
The following is an excerpt from a homily at the
canonization of Saint Maria Goretti by Pope Pius XII:"It is well known how this young girl had to face a
bitter struggle with no way to defend herself.
Without warning a vicious stranger [actually
Alessandro Serenelli who lived with his father in the
same house as the Gorettis] burst upon her, bent on
raping her and destroying her childlike purity. In that
moment of crisis she could have spoken to her
Redeemer in the words of that classic, The Imitation
of Christ: 'Though tested and plagued by a host of
misfortunes, I have no fear so long as your grace is
with me. It is my strength, stronger than anyadversary; it helps me and gives me guidance.' With
splendid courage she surrendered herself to God
and his grace and so gave her life to protect her
virginity.
"The life of this simple girlI shall concern myself
only with highlightswe can see as worthy of
heaven. Even today people can look upon it with
admiration and respect. Parents can learn from her
story how to raise their God-given children in virtue,
courage and holiness; they can learn to train them in
the Catholic faith so that, when put to the test, God's
grace will support them and they will come through
undefeated, unscathed and untarnished.
"From Maria's story carefree children and young
people with their zest for life can learn not to be led
astray by attractive pleasures which are not only
ephemeral and empty but also sinful. Instead they
can fix their sights on achieving Christian moral
perfection, however difficult and hazardous that
course may prove. With determination and God's
help all of us can attain that goal by persistent effortand prayer.
"Not all of us are expected to die a martyr's death,
but we are all called to the pursuit of Christian
virtue. This demands strength of character though it
may not match that of this innocent girl. Still, a
constant, persistent and relentless effort is asked of
us right up to the moment of our death. This may be
conceived as a slow steady martyrdom which Christ
urged upon us when he said: The kingdom of heaven
is set upon and laid waste by violent forces.
"So let us all, with God's grace, strive to reach thegoal that the example of the virgin martyr, Saint
Maria Goretti, sets before us. Through her prayers to
the Redeemer may all of us, each in his own way,
joyfully try to follow the inspiring example of Maria
Goretti who now enjoys eternal happiness in
heaven."
Imprisoned for murder she appeared to him in his
cell and forgave him, and he was subsequently
converted. Most importantly, he sat next to her
mother at the beatification, who also forgave him.
Patron: Against impoverishment; against poverty;
children; children of Mary; girls; loss of parents;
martyrs; rape victims; young people in general.
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El Mozote Massacre
"The El Mozote Massacre took place in and around the village of El Mozote, in Morazn department, El Salvador,
on December 11, 1981, when the Salvadorean Army killed more than 800 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign
during the Salvadoran Civil War. The massacre was first reported in the US byNew York Times andWashington
Post reporters who had independently reached the scene, and came during a congressional debate over whether to
continue military aid to the Salvadoran armed forces. Following a "certification" by the administration of US
President Ronald Reagan that no massacre had taken place and that Salvadoran forces were working to respect
human rights, the Democratic-controlled Congress agreed to continue aid.
In December 2011, the El Salvador government apologized for the massacre. . . .
US journalist Mark Danner compiled various reports to reconstruct an account of the massacre." (Wikipedia)
From: Mark Danner (1993). "The Truth of El Mozote," The New Yorker, 6 December 1993.
http://www.markdanner.com/articles/show/the_truth_of_el_mozote
Rufina [Rufina Amaya, a thirty-eight-year-old
woman, one of the few survivors of the massacre]
could not see the children; she could only hear their
cries as the soldiers waded into them, slashing some
with their machetes, crushing the skulls of others
with the butts of their rifles. Many othersthe
youngest children, most below the age of twelve
the soldiers herded from the house of Alfredo
Mrquez across the street to the sacristy, pushing
them, crying and screaming, into the dark tiny room.
There the soldiers raised their M16s and emptied
their magazines into the roomful of children.
Not all the children of El Mozote died at the
sacristy. A young man now known as Chepe Mozote
told me that when the townspeople were forced to
assemble on the plaza that evening he and his little
brother had been left behind in their house, on the
outskirts of the hamlet, near the school. By the next
morning, Chepe had heard plenty of shooting; his
mother had not returned. [Soldiers found him and
ordered him to carry his brother to the playground
near the school.]
When they reached the playing field, there were
maybe thirty children, he says. The soldiers were
putting ropes on the trees. I was seven years old,
and I didnt really understand what was happening
until I saw one of the soldiers take a kid he had been
carryingthe kid was maybe three years oldthrow
him in the air, and stab him with a bayonet.
"They slit some of the kids' throats, and many they
hanged from the tree. All of us were crying now, but
we were their prisonersthere was nothing we
could do. The soldiers kept telling us, 'You are
guerrillas and this is justice. This is justice.' Finally,
there were only three of us left. I watched them
hang my brother. He was two years old. I could see I
was going to be killed soon, and I thought it would
be better to die running, so I ran. I slipped through
the soldiers and dived into the bushes. They fired
into the bushes, but none of their bullets hit me." . . .
Soon the only sounds were those which trickled
down from the hillslaughter, intermittent screams,
a few shots. On La Cruz, soldiers were raping the
young girls who were left. . . .
There was one in particular the soldiers talked
about that evening (she is mentioned in the Tutela
Legal report as well): a girl on La Cruz whom they
had raped many times during the course of the
afternoon, and through it all, while the other women
of El Mozote had screamed and cried [during the
rapes], this girl had sung hymns, strange evangelical
songs, and she had kept right on singing, too, even
after they had done what had to be done, and shot
her in the chest. She had lain there on La Cruz with
the blood flowing from her chest, and had kept on
singinga bit weaker than before, but still singing.
And the soldiers, stupefied, had watched and
pointed. Then they had grown tired of the game and
shot her again, and she sang still, and their wonder
began to turn to fearuntil finally they had
unsheathed their machetes and hacked through her
neck, and at last the singing had stopped.
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