THE ROMAN CAPTIVES IN PERSIA, MARTYRS - 9 APRIL

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN APRIL

Saints celebrated on the 9th of April

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.

THE ROMAN CAPTIVES IN PERSIA, MARTYRS 

[In the year of Christ 362, of Sapor 53.]  The Persians, in an incursion into the Christian territories, took by siege the castle Bethzarbe, on the Tigris, massacred the garrison, and led away nine thousand souls into captivity.

HE ORDAINED DAUSAS BISHOP

Among these were Heliodorus, a bishop, Dausas and Mariabus, ancient priests, besides many other priests, monks, and nuns. The good bishop died on the road, but first ordained Dausas bishop in his place. The canons order a bishop not to be ordained but by three bishops: but this admits a dispensation in cases of necessity. 

Thus Theodoret says, that Saint Eusebius of Samosata went about privately ordaining Catholic pastors to fill vacant sees: and St Gregory allowed St Augustine to do the same in England. 

THEIR MARTYR'S CROWN

The captives assembled daily with Dausas, who celebrated the divine mysteries. When they were arrived on the confines of Assyria, it was left to the option of three hundred of them either to adore the sun or to die. Twenty-five complied with the injunction, and were rewarded with portions of land for their apostasy. The other two hundred and seventy-five remained constant with the bishop Dausas, and were all massacred together. 

(From Fr Butler's Lives of the Saints)