May 18th - Saint Venantius of Camerino, Martyr
(died 250)
Saint Venantius, born at Camerino in Italy, during the persecution of
Decius
was taken into custody at the age of fifteen years as a Christian who was
preaching Christ to others. His history is one of the most miraculous in
the
annals of the early martyrs.
Having learned that he was about to be arrested, he presented himself to
the
governor of Camerino, Antiochus, at the city gates, and said to him that
the
lives of the gods were filled with every kind of crime, that there was
only
one God, whose unique Son had become a man to deliver his fellow humans
from
the tyranny of sin. When it was found impossible to shake his constancy
either by threats or promises, he was condemned to be scourged, but was
miraculously saved by an Angel. He was then burnt with torches and
suspended
over a low fire that he might be suffocated by the smoke. The judge's
secretary, while admiring the steadfastness of the Saint, saw an Angel
robed
in white, who stamped out the fire and again set free the youthful martyr.
This man proclaimed his faith in Christ and was baptized with his whole
family. Shortly afterwards he won the martyr's crown.
Venantius was summoned to appear before Antiochus. Unable to make him
renounce his faith, the governor cast him into prison with an apostate
soldier, who strove in vain to tempt him. Antiochus, furious, then ordered
his teeth and jaws to be broken and had him thrown into a furnace, from
which the Angel once more delivered him. The Saint was sent to a city
magistrate to be condemned, but this judge after hearing his defense of
Christianity, fell headlong from his seat and expired, saying, "The God of
Venantius is the true God; let us destroy our idols."
When this cir***stance was told to Antiochus, he ordered Venantius to be
thrown to the lions. These brutes, however, forgetting their natural
ferocity, crouched at the feet of the Saint. Then, by order of the tyrant,
the young martyr was dragged through a heap of brambles and thorns and
retired half-dead, but the next day he was cured; God had manifested the
glory of His servant once more. On behalf of soldiers who had dragged him
outside the city over stones and rocks, and were suffering from thirst,
the
Saint knelt on a rock and signed it with a cross; immediately a jet of
clear, cool water welled up from the spot. This miracle converted many of
those who beheld it. The rock remained imprinted by his knees and was
placed
in a church in Camerino, where it still remains.
The governor finally had Venantius and his converts beheaded on the same
day, in the year 250. The bodies of these martyrs are kept in the same
church at Camerino. The Acts of Saint Venantius' martyrdom have been
carefully studied and declared authentic by the Church.
Reflection. Love of suffering marks the most perfect degree in the love of
God. Our Lord Himself was consumed with the desire to suffer, because He
burnt with the love of God. We must begin with patience and detachment,
and
eventually we shall learn to love the sufferings which conform us to the
Passion of our Redeemer.
Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin
(Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 5; 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:
"There are some characters which appear very gentle as long as everything
goes well with them; but at the touch of any adversity or contradiction,
they are immediately enkindled, and begin to throw forth smoke like a
volcano. Such as these may be called burning coals hidden under ashes.
This
is not the meekness which Our Lord aimed to teach, that He might make us
like Himself. We ought to be like lilies among thorns, which, though they
come from amid such sharp points, do not cease to be smooth and pliable"
-St. Bernard
This virtue also shone forth in St Jane Frances de Chantal When she was,
on
various occasions, ill-treated by many, she never showed the least sign of
resentment or displeasure, but in return gave presents to one, bestowed
favors obtained from God or from persons of rank, upon another. Nor was
her
love for any of them diminished.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". May - Meekness)
Bible Quote
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves. 23 For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall
be
compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. 24 For he
beheld
himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.
(James 1:22-24)
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The Road of Life
What is time? It has been given
That we may work and merit heaven.
Though rough may be the path through life,
Darkened by sorrow and beset with strife,
Think of Him Who at the distant goal
Awaits to crown the faithful soul.
Was His path brighter than may be
The one His love reserves for thee.
Had He not darker ways to tread
Than those from which we shrink in dread!
Fight the good fight, on onward still,
O'er mountain pass and lonesome hill;
Let no sorrow your progress stay,
While He the Saviour leads the way.
Some future hour will heaven unfold
To thee its gates of burnished gold;
How small will then life's trials be,
Lost in the ocean of eternity!
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