ST AMBROSIUS, MARTYR - 16 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 16th of 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.

ST AMBROSIUS, MARTYR

The holy martyr Ambrosius (Ambrose) was a centurion, born in Liguria, and well instructed in the wisdom of the Pythagoreans. 

HE WAS TOLD TO RENOUNCE THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

After he had devoted himself to the science of war in Milan, he was made captain there and subsequently came to Ferentinum in the region of Latium, where he converted to Christianity. 

He was therefore charged by the governor and given time to think about renouncing the Christian faith, but he remained steadfast, and, having been stripped of his military regalia, was thrown into a dark dungeon and left there without food or drink. 

HIS HOLY BODY WAS BURIED BY CHRISTIANS

But when, after a month, Ambrosius was still as fresh and healthy as if he had had food in abundance, the governor had him tormented in various ways, immediately thrown into a fiery furnace, then, when he remained unharmed in it, thrown into the water, and as even this did not bring about his death, he was beheaded.

This happened during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian. His holy body was buried by the Christians in the church at Ferentinum, where it is still kept. His name is also inserted in the Roman Martyrology on August 16. 

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