ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 19th 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 ANDREW STRATELATES AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
Saint Andrew, chief of the army (Tribunus), and his companions, all soldiers, suffered torture for Christ's sake in Cilicia under the emperor Maximianus.
When the Persians unexpectedly attacked the Roman Empire and St Andrew and his band were sent to meet them, he promised victory to his team if they converted to the Christian faith.
VICTORY WAS ON THEIR SIDE
They did, and victory was really on their side, in spite of their small number and the overwhelming strength of the enemy.
But when the emperor heard that Andrew and his men had accepted Christianity, he had them taken to Cilicia and all of them slaughtered without exception. How many saints there were with Andrew is not exactly known; but some reports put their number at nearly three thousand. His name is in the Roman Martyrology on August 19.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)
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