Saint of the Day: St. Ia of Persia

(d. 360)

Her life

+ Ia was an enslaved woman in Persia who was of Greek ancestry.

+ During the persecution of Christians initiated by King Shapur II, she was tortured and executed because of her success in converting Persian woman to Christianity.

+ Saint Ia died in the year 360.

For prayer and reflection

“They did not cling to their lives even in the face of death; therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them.”—Revelation 12:11-12

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember Saint Lydia. A dyer of purple cloth in Philippi, she offered hospitality to Saint Paul and Saint Silas and, according to the Acts of the Apostles (ch. 16), she was baptized by Saint Paul. She is honored as the first European to be baptized as a Christian.

Prayer

O God, by whose gift strength is made perfect in weakness, grant to all who honor the glory of blessed Ia that she, who drew from you the strength to triumph, may likewise always obtain from you the grace of victory for us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For a Holy Woman Martyr)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.