Martyr (1907-1940)
His life
+ Filip Siphong Onphithakt was born in Nong Seng, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, and began serving as a catechist in 1926.
+ Filip married Maria Thong in 1931 and the couple had five children.
+ Following the exile of the parish priest during a persecution of the Church in Thailand, Filip took over the leadership of the Christian community.
+ After protesting the harassment of Catholics by the police, he was ordered to report the police headquarters in Mukdahan. He was ambushed and murdered as he made his way there on December 16, 1940.
+ Blessed Filip Siphong was beatified with other martyrs from Thailand in 1989.
For prayer and reflection
“The faith in Christ that Peter expressed at Caesarea Philippi: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Matthew. 16, 16) is the same that the Thai Martyrs confessed in the sacrifice of their lives. It is the same faith to which we are all called through the grace of Baptism and our Confirmation in the Holy Spirit.”—Pope Saint John Paul II
Spiritual bonus
On December 16 we also remember Blessed Mary of the Angels Fontanella. As a young woman, she became a Cistercian nun in Saluzzo, Italy, but, after having to leave her monastery to care for her family, she decided to become a Carmelite nun in Turin, Italy. Honored as a visionary and a mystic and for her strong devotion to Saint Joseph, she also served her community as novice mistress and prioress. Blessed Mary of the Angels died on December 16, 1717, and was beatified in 1865.
Prayer
Almighty and merciful God, who brought your Martyr blessed Filip to overcome the torments of his passion, grant that we, who celebrate the day of his triumph, may remain invincible under your protection against the snares of the enemy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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