(d. 344)
Their story
+ These 120 martyrs—men and women honored collectively as the “Martyrs of Persia”—died for their faith during the persecution of King Sapor II.
+ The king initiated the persecution of Christians because of their unwillingness to take part in the officially sanctioned worship of the sun and for their connections with Rome.
+ The earliest account of their deaths does not include the names of any of the martyrs, but historians feel that it is a relatively reliable account of the faith and sacrifice of this community of Persian Christians.
+ These martyrs were included in the Roman Martyrology in the sixteenth century.
For reflection
“For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.”—Psalm 69:8-10
Prayer
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
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.
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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