October 11th - St. Tarachus and his Companions, Martyrs
(d. 304)
During the persecution of Diocletian in the year 304, Tarachus, Probus,
and
Andronicus, differing in age and nationality but united in the bonds of
faith,
were denounced as Christians to the governor of Cilicia. They were
arrested at
Pompeiopolis, and conducted to Tarsus. The acts of these glorious martyrs
are
one of the most precious monuments of Church history. The interrogations,
making
up the first three parts of their acts, were recorded in the proconsular
registers, which the Christians bought for 200 deniers from the public
Notary.
Line by line, we read the questions posed by the governor of Cilicia named
Maximus, and the answers of the martyrs. These are followed by a narration
of
their death, written by three Christian eyewitnesses, Mark, Felix and
Verus, who
buried their bodies.
Tarachus was a retired military officer of the imperial armies, who had
reached
the age of sixty-five. Probus had abandoned a fortune to serve Jesus
Christ with
greater liberty. Andronicus, the youngest, was a member of one of the
first
families of Ephesus.
When Tarachus was told to sacrifice, he replied, "I cannot renounce the
law of
God." The governor of the province said, "There is only one law, the one
we
obey."
Tarachus: "There is another, and you transgress it by adoring your own
handiwork, statues of wood or stone." He was struck on the mouth and
beaten with
rods. Tarachus said while being struck: "Now you are making me truly wise;
the
blows you give me fortify me, they increase my confidence in God and in
Jesus
Christ." He was chained and taken to prison.
Probus was no less courageous; while he was being beaten the governor said
to
him, "Look at your torn body, wretch, and the ground covered with your
blood!"
Probus: "The more my flesh suffers for Jesus Christ, the more my soul
acquires
strength and vigor." He was placed in irons and no one was permitted to
dress
his wounds.
When the turn of Andronicus came, Maximus said to him: "Adore the gods and
obey
the emperors, who are our fathers and masters."
Andronicus: "The devil is your father, when you do his works."
Maximus: "Young man, you are insolent; do you know that I have torments in
readiness?"
Andronicus: "I would rather see my body cut into pieces than lose my
soul."
Maximus: "Wretch, we will see if you are insensible to torments. When you
feel
them, you will perhaps renounce your folly."
Andronicus: "This folly is advantageous for us who hope in Jesus Christ.
The
wisdom of the world leads to eternal death." He was tortured on the rack,
and
salt put on his wounds. He said: "Your torments have procured true
refreshment
for my body."
Maximus: "I will have you perish by a slow death." And he had him chained
like
the others and put in prison.
A short time later they were moved to another city, where the same
governor
began the questioning over again. Tarachus had his teeth broken, his hands
burnt, and vinegar and salt poured into his nostrils. He said: "Your
vinegar has
only sweetness for me, and your salt seems insipid to me." Probus, brought
before him, told him, "My soul is stronger than ever. In heaven I have a
living
God whom I serve and adore; I know no other." When told to sacrifice to
Jupiter,
he said, "Can you give the name of god to one soiled by adulteries,
*****s, and
other enormous crimes?" And when struck on the mouth, he said, "I have not
injured truth, I only said of Jupiter what all who adore him already
know." He
was burnt with hot coals on the head and feet. Andronicus was led before
Maximus
and told that his companions had ceded under torture. He answered: "Why do
you
try to deceive me? My companions have not renounced the cult of the true
God,
and even if they had, I would not commit such an impiety. The God I adore
has
given me the arms of faith. Jesus Christ, my Saviour, is my strength, in
such
wise that I do not dread your power or that of your masters or that of
your
gods. You can test me with all the tortures that the most refined cruelty
suggests to you." He was again beaten and salt was rubbed into his wounds.
Maximus said to him: "You will not despise my authority with impunity."
Andronicus: "It will not be said, either, that the cause of Jesus Christ
has
suc***bed under your authority."
A third interrogation and another series of tortures followed at still
another
city. Tarachus was cruelly tortured; when his ears were cut off he only
said:
"My heart is no less attentive to the word of God", and made other similar
replies, as respectful as they were heroic.
Maximus said to Probus: "The God you invoke has delivered you Himself into
my
hands."
Probus: "He loves men." Food offered to idols was forced into his mouth.
Probus: "I have abandoned my body to your power in order to save my soul.
When
you force me to eat what has been offered on your abominable altars, I am
not
soiled; God is witness to the violence I suffer." He was blinded. He
replied:
"You have deprived me of the eyes of the body, but cannot take from me
those of
the soul. If you knew your own blindness, you would find you were more
unfortunate than I am." The youngest confessor had his teeth pulled out,
and was
told he would be devoured by the beasts in the amphitheater. He said: "God
will
deliver me when it so pleases Him."
Unable to walk because of their wounds, these disciples of Christ were
borne to
the amphitheater. The wild animals, when released, would not approach the
martyrs; a bear who had killed three men that day, came and licked the
feet of
the youngest martyr. The governor had the beast killed. A furious lioness,
even
after being provoked, lay down at the feet of Tarachus and licked them.
Gladiators were told to kill the martyrs. The Christians of the city sent
this
narration to the church of Iconium, telling them to make it known to the
faithful of the other cities of the region for their edification.
Reflection: Such is true Christian devotion. Is ours the faith of the
Apostles
who cried: "Neither death nor life shall be able to separate us from the
love
that is in Christ Jesus"? (Cf. Romans 8:38-39)
Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin
(Bloud
et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 12; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a
compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by
John
Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
Saint Quote:
O Sacred Heart of Jesus! I fly to Thee, I unite myself with Thee, I
enclose
myself to Thee! Receive this, my call for help, O my Saviour, as a sign of
my
horror of all within me contrary to Thy Holy Love. Let me rather die a
thousand
times than consent! Be Thou my Strength, O God: defend me, protect me. I
am
thine, and desire forever to be Thine!
--St Margaret Mary Alocoque
Bible Quote:
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
upon
Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are
healed.
(Isaiah 53:5)
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Prayer for Holiness
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Who, by the will of the Father
and the cooperation of the Holy Ghost, has by Your death given life to the
world, deliver me by this, Your most Sacred Body and Blood, from all my
iniquities and from every evil; make me cling always to Your commandments,
and permit me never to be separated from You. Who with the same God, the
Father and the Holy Ghost, lives and reigns God, world without end. -
Amen.
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