Bible Verse
- James 5:13-16 -
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him
sing
songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the
church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And
the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will
raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess
your
sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
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"Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; sup****t the
tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne
of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down."
- John Wesley
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June 1st - Saint Pamphilus, Martyr
(Died 308)
Saint Pamphilus, a scholar and martyr of the early fourth century, born of
a
rich and honorable family, was a native of Berytus in Phoenicia. That city
was famous then for its schools, and Pamphilus in his youth pursued
studies
in all the existing branches of learning; afterwards he went to the
renowned
Christian school of Alexandria, where he had as master a celebrated
Christian philosopher named Pierius. Then he journeyed to Caesarea in
Palestine, and was there ordained a priest.
After he began to know Christ, he could relish no pursuit but that of the
doctrine of salvation, and he renounced all other occupations to apply
himself wholly to the study of Holy Scripture and the practices of virtue.
At his own expense, he collected a great library of thirty thousand
volumes
and bestowed it on the church of Caesarea. The Saint also established
there
a school of sacred literature open to the public, and to his labors the
Church was indebted for a corrected edition of the Holy Bible. This, with
infinite care, he transcribed himself.
Nothing was more remarkable in Saint Pamphilus than his extraordinary
humility. He distributed his paternal estate among the poor; his behavior
towards his servants was always that of a brother or a tender father. He
led
a very austere life, sequestered from the world and its company, and was
indefatigable in his scholarly labors. This virtue was his apprentice****p
for the grace of martyrdom.
He was giving public lessons in the city of Caesarea, when the persecution
of Maximius Daius interrupted them. In the year 307, Urbanus, the cruel
governor of Palestine, had him arrested, and after trying unsuccessfully
to
win this im****tant personage by promises and flattery, commanded him to be
inhumanly tormented. But the iron hooks which tore the holy priest's sides
served only to cover the judge with confusion, for no means could alter
his
holy convictions. The governor had Saint Pamphilus trans****ted half-dead
to
a prison, where he remained virtually forgotten for two years, his cruel
persecutor himself having been reproved and executed by orders of the
Emperor, and another having replaced him.
Finally, with nine other imprisoned Christians, Saint Pamphilus was
sentenced to death without burial. But no wild creatures approached the
bodies of Saint Pamphilus and the other martyrs who died on the same
evening. Their guards were impressed, and finally the faithful were
allowed
to carry away the blessed martyrs for honorable burial.
Reflection. A multitude of witnesses, a noble army of martyrs, teach us by
their constancy to suffer wrongs with patience, and strenuously to resist
evil. The daily trials we meet with from others or ourselves are always
permitted by God, who sometimes purposely poses difficulties before us in
order to reward our victory, and like a wise physician, restores us to
health by bitter potions.
Sources: 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); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des
Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 5.
Saint Quote:
Everyone-past, present, and future-will be judged. Now, then, is the time
for mercy, while the time to come will be the time for justice only. For
that reason, the present time is ours, but the future time will be God's
only!
-St. Thomas Aquinas
Bible quote:
And answering, he said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard
and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the
deaf
hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached:
And blessed is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me. (Luke
7:22-23)
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MIRACULOUS PRAYER
August Queen of Heaven, Sovereign Mistress of the Angels, thou who from
the
beginning hast received from God the power and mission to crush the head
of
Satan, we humbly beseech thee to send thy holy Legions, that under thy
command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them
on every side, resist their bold attacks, and drive them hence into the
abyss of everlasting woe. Amen.
V. Who is like unto God?
R. O good and tender Mother, thou shalt ever be our love and our hope.
V. Saint Michael and all ye Holy Angels,
R. Pray for us.
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