SS. BASSA, THEOGNIS, AGAPIUS AND PISTUS, MARTYRS - 21 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 21st August

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

SS. BASSA, THEOGNIS, AGAPIUS AND PISTUS, MARTYRS  

St Bassa, a martyr at Edessa in Syria, was the mother of SS. Theognis (or Theogonius), Agabius and Pistus (or Fidelis), who, following the example of the Maccabeans' mother, encouraged them to persevere in martyrdom. 

SHE WAS BEHEADED AFTER HER SONS

She was beheaded after her sons under the emperor Maximian. 

ENTRY IN THE ROMAN MARTYROLOGY

Her and her sons' names are found in the Roman Martyrology on August 21: "SS. Bassa, Theognis (Theogonius), Agapius et Pistus (Fidelis), MM. (August 21)"

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)