March 29th - Sts. Jonas, Barachisius and Comp. MM (RM)
Died December 24, 327.
In the 18th year of his reign, the Sassanian King Shapur II began a
vicious
persecution against the Christians in Persia. He cast many into prison,
and
two
brothers of the city of Beth-Asa decided, in spite of the danger, to visit
and
comfort them in their last hours of torment and death.
The two men were arrested for this, and brought to trial. We are lucky
that
the
eyewitness accounts of their martyrdom with nine other Christians survive.
The
judge told them they must venerate the King of Persia and also the sun,
the
moon, fire and water. They answered him that only a fool would wor****p a
mortal
man rather than the immortal king of heaven.
At the advice of the Magians, the brothers were separated, and Barachisius
was
cast into a very narrow close dungeon. Jonas was detained. When he still
refused
to sacrifice to the elements, the tortures began. While he was beaten with
clubs
and having a stake under his navel, he managed yet to praise God. Next he
was
set in a frozen pond, and left to die.
After Shapur has a nap and dinner, he called for Barachisius and cruelly
told
him his brother had sacrificed. The martyr said it was impossible, and
spoke
so
powerfully about the Holy Trinity that all were astonished. The
authorities
declared that future interrogations should be held under the wrap of night
lest
many be converted to Christianity. Nevertheless, Barachisius was also
tortured.
Red-hot iron plates and hammers were placed under each arm, and he was
told:
"If
you shake off either of these, by the king's fortune, you deny Christ." He
meekly replied: "I fear not your fire; nor shall I throw off your
instruments of
torture. I beg you to try without delay all your torments on me. He who is
engaged in combat for God is full of courage." So, they invented new
torments:
Melted lead was dropped into his nostrils and eyes, then he was thrown
into
a
cell where he was hung by one foot.
They found Jonas still alive the next morning and attempted to undermine
his
faith, too, by saying his brother had renounced Christ. The martyr,
interrupting
them, answered: "I know that long ago he renounced the devil and his
angels."
The Magians urged: "Take care lest you perish, abandoned both by God and
man."
Jonas replied: "If you are really wise, as you boast, judge if it be not
better
to sow the corn than to keep it hoarded up. Our life is a seed sown to
rise
again in the world to come, when it will be renewed by Christ in immortal
light." The Magians said, "Your books have drawn many aside." Jonas
answered:
"They have indeed drawn many from worldly pleasures. When a servant of
Christ is
in his sufferings inebriated with love from the passion of his Lord, he
forgets
the transitory state of this short life, its riches, estates, gold, and
honors;
regulars of kings and princes, lords and noblemen, where all eternity is
at
stake, he desires nothing but the sight of the only true King, whose
empire
is
everlasting, and whose power reaches to all ages."
Thereafter, the two saints were barbarously put to death. After hideous
tortures
(including the severing of his fingers, toes, tongue, and scalp; burning
in
boiling pitch), Jonah's mangled body was placed in a wine-press, and the
saint
was crushed to death. Even when he was dead, they continued. His body was
sawed
into pieces and thrown into a dry cistern, which was guarded to prevent
other
Christians from stealing the relics.
Barichisius was treated with equal brutality. Hundreds of reeds were cut
into
sharp splinters and inserted into his flesh. Then Barichisius was rolled
along
the ground, so that the long splinters pierced him deeply. As he endured
the
hideous pain, the judge called out that he could still save himself.
Barachisius
replied, "God, the maker of this body, will restore it; and he will judge
you
and your king." And so he joined his brother in death when burning pitch
was
poured down his throat
Upon the news of their death, Abtusciatus, an old friend, came and
purchased
their bodies for five hundred drachmas and three silk garments, binding
himself
also by oath never to divulge the sale. The acts are closed by these
words:
"This book was written from the mouths of witnesses, and contains the acts
of
the saints, Jonas, Barachisius, and others, martyrs of Christ, who by his
succor
fought, triumphed, and were crowned, in whose prayers we beg place may be
found,
by Esaias, son of Adabus of Arzun, in Armenia, of the troop of royal
horse-men,
who was present at their interrogatories and tortures, and who wrote the
history
of their conflicts." These authentic acts were originally written in
Chaldaic
(Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Husenbeth).
This version taken from:
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0329.shtml
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"The greatest gift one can receive from God in this world is wisdom, power
and
will to conquer himself, by denying self-will"
-St. Francis of Assisi
The Abbot Pastor had the highest opinion of this exercise, and used
to
say
that our own will is an iron wall that disunites and separates us from
Cod.
St. Colette, of the Order of St. Francis, often said that she thought
it a
greater mortification to deny one's own judgment and will than to abandon
all
the riches in the world, and therefore she practiced it to the utmost of
her
ability.
St. Bernard also entertained the same sentiments, and said that all
evils
spring from a single root, which is self-will.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". March - Mortification)
Bible Quote:
25 Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that
believeth
in
me, although he be dead, shall live:26 And every one that liveth, and
believeth
in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)
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A pair of prayers, one for morning, the other for evening:
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee
my prayers, works, and sufferings of this day for all the
intentions of Thy sacred Heart, in union with the holy sacrifice
of the Mass throughout the world, for the intentions of all our
associates, and in particular for the intention recommended
this month by the Holy Father.
<<>>
Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this habitation, and drive far
from it all the snares of the enemy: let Thy holy angels dwell
herein, to keep us in peace, and may Thy blessing be always
upon us. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who
liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end. Amen.
[sprinkle your bed with holy water, and bless yourself with the
holy water as you go to bed, then say:]
Lord, into Thy Hands I commend my spirit.
Imprimatur: + John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York, Sept 19, 1908.
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Hail Mary of Gold
Hail Mary, White Lily of the Glorious and always-serene Trinity.
Hail brilliant Rose of the Garden of heavenly delights:
O you, by whom God wanted to be born and by whose
milk the King of Heaven wanted to be nourished!
Nourish our souls with effusions of divine grace. Amen!
At the hour when the soul which has thus greeted me
quits the body I will appear to them in such splended
beauty that they'll taste, to their great consolation,
something of the joys of Paradise.
The Blessed Virgin to St. Gertrude the Great
(Revelations book III, chapter XVIII)
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