ST GLAPHYRA, VIRGIN - 13 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 13th of January

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 GLAPHYRA, VIRGIN 

Born in Italy of Christian parents, Saint Glaphyra worked as a lady-in-waiting at the court of emperor Licinius in Nicomedia.

ST GLAPHYRA'S ESCAPE

When  the persecutions started, she confided in the empress, who gave her the opportunity to flee and an income. 

SHE ASSISTED THE BISHOP AT AMASIA

Glaphyra then settled at Amasia (Amasea) in the Pontus, where she rendered valuable services to Bishop Basileus, who was building a Christian church. 

SHE STAYED IN TOUCH WITH THE EMPRESS

She stayed in touch with the empress by correspondence. One day, however, her letters to the empress came into the hands of the steward Benignus, who passed them on them to the emperor.

HER DEATH

Her death around year 324 saved her from further persecution. The Roman Martyrology, too,  commemorates St Glaphyra on this day. 

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