Martyrs took the spotlight at last
night's prayer meeting: St. Dorothy (left),
St. Pancras (right), & St. Peregrine (not
were present as we prayed.
Our menu at this month's prayer meeting of Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group read like a Summer Picnic: Chili, Fried Chicken, Cole Slaw, Potato-Mac Salad, Banana Lumpia, and the popular Lemon Crunch Cake from Aiea Bowl! Everything was super tasty and how appropriate since the summer season is almost at an end.
More importantly, though, our Rosary and prayer intercessions were deeply inspired by the presence of 1st Class [bone] Relics of three Martyrs from the Early Church: St. Dorothy of Caesarea (d. 311), St. Pancras (d. 304), and St. Peregrine (d. 192, not "Peregrine Laziosi", the Patron Saint of Cancer Patients). These Saints heroically witnessed to their faith in Jesus Christ, and willingly died in testimony of Him, at the time of the Roman persecutions. Their lives reminded us that, disturbingly, history appears to be repeating itself, with the execution of Christians occurring with more frequency throughout the world at the hands of radical religious groups; the brutality of these heinous killings mirror that of the ancient Romans, as Christians are again being beheaded and even crucified!
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
~ 2 Timothy, 3:12
So with all due seriousness, we prayed for the protection of Christians throughout the world and invoked the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints for our suffering brethren around the globe. We also had immense hope in knowing that the Church has countless new intercessors in Heaven - glorious modern Martyrs! - who are certainly praying for us in the very presence of God! The Bible promises that in the end we will prevail... but in the meantime, we - as believers in Christ - need to continue to pray for each other and hope; emanating the LOVE of God in order to be a light in the midst of darkness. St. Dorothy, St. Pancras, and St. Peregrine, pray for us!
"Blessed are those who are persecute
for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven; Blessed are you
when others revile you and persecute
you and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on my account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in Heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets
who were before you."
~ Words of Jesus, Matthew 5:10-12
No comments:
Post a Comment
[Your comment/feedback is welcomed. However, business advertisements of any sort are not allowed and will be deleted. Thank you.]