BL. EMMANUEL RUIZ AND COMPANIONS - MARTYRS OF DAMASCUS - 10 JULY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY

Saints celebrated on the 10th of July

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.

BL. EMMANUEL RUIZ AND COMPANIONS - MARTYRS OF DAMASCUS

Emmanuel, his brother Franciscans and the three Maronite laymen were beatified in 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

HATRED OF CHRISTIANS

Born of humble parents in Santander, Spain, he became a Franciscan priest and served as a missionary in Damascus. This was at a time when anti-Christian riots shook Syria and thousands lost their lives in just a short time.

THEY REMAINED STEADFAST UNTO DEATH

Among these were Emmanuel, superior of the Franciscan convent, and ten companions: seven other friars and three laymen. When a menacing crowd came looking for the men, they refused to renounce their faith and become Muslims. Because they remained true to the Faith, they were hacked to pieces on July 10, 1860.

PRAYER:

Grant to your Church, we beseech you, O Lord, through the intercession of Bl. Emmanuel and his Companions, not to think high-mindedly, but to grow in humility pleasing to you; that, despising what is base, she may with unbounded love diligently do whatever is right. 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.