ST MARTHA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR - 23 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

 Saints celebrated on the 23rd of February

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 MARTHA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR 

Saint Martha, virgin and martyr, is commemorated on February 23. Some writers mention her on February 22. According to the Bollandists, St Martha is venerated particularly in Astorga (Asturica Augusta, Asturica, Asturgia, formerly Rena). 

SHE SUFFERED UNDER THE PROCONSUL PATERNUS

One hundred percent historically reliable information about St Martha is not available. However, an old tradition says that she suffered under the Proconsul Paternus during the Decian persecution, around the year 251. He, imbued with natural compassion for the youthful and spirited professor of Christ, wished to preserve her life and give her to his son in marriage. 

SHE REMAINED STEADFAST

But she remained steadfast, despite the fact that he had her tortured and beaten with clubs. Christ appeared to her and strengthened her. She died by the sword. Her body, which was thrown into an unclean place by the executioners, was retrieved by fellow Christians. It is interred in Riva do Sil, (or, according to the hagiographer Migne, in Astorga). The Sil is a tributary of the Minho and rises on the northern border of the Kingdom of Leon.

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

PRAYER:

May blessed Martha, Virgin and Martyr, who was ever pleasing to you by the merit of her chastity and by her trust in your power, implore for us your forgiveness, we beseech you, O God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.