Skip to main content

ST ARTEMIUS, MARTYR - 20 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 20th of October

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 ARTEMIUS, MARTYR 

[A.D. 362] Augustus, not being willing to entrust the government of Egypt, which was a rich and powerful country, from which the city of Rome was in part supplied with corn, to a senator, like other great provinces of the empire, passed an order that, instead of a proconsul, it should be governed only by a Roman knight, with the title of Augustal prefect. 

The government of the troops was committed to a general officer with the title of duke, or general of Egypt. Artemius was honoured with this command under Constantius, after Lucius and Sebastian. If, in executing some commissions under Constantius, he appeared against St Athanasius, by various contrivances he afforded him means and opportunities to make his escape. If he betrayed too great weakness in obeying his prince at that time, he never approved his heresy. 

At least that he was orthodox in his faith in the reign of Julian, is evident from Theodoret, the Paschal Chronicle, and the ancient Greek Calendars. The idolaters in Egypt accused him before that emperor of having demolished their temples, and broken down their idols. Julian summoned him to appear before him at Antioch in 362, and upon this indictment condemned him to be beheaded in that city, about the month of June in 362.   

Artemius engaged in the service of impious Arians, who embrued their hands in the blood of the saints, and placed on the pinnacle of worldly honours, stands upon the brink of the precipice, in imminent danger of being tumbled down headlong into everlasting flames; yet the omnipotent hand of God rescues him from these dangers, and leads him to bliss by a glorious martyrdom. 

The view of the many imminent dangers of perishing eternally, to which our souls have been often exposed, must fill us with the deepest sentiments of gratitude, love, and praise, for the infinite and most undeserved mercy by which we have been preserved. Should not we burst forth into incessant hymns of praise and thanksgiving? singing with the royal prophet: Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul had long ago dwelt in hell. Should not we, in a transport of gratitude, implore, without interruption, the divine grace, and resolve to serve God with all our strength, that the fruit of so great mercies may not perish through our malice?

(From Fr Butler's Lives of the Saints)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WELCOME

  Please pick your saints: January - Saints by date  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17   18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30    31   February - Saints by date  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17 18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

BL. LUKE KIRBY, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 30 MAY

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY Saints celebrated on the 30th of May WELCOME! BLESSED LUKE KIRBY, PRIEST AND MARTYR 16th century houses, painted by Auguste Mayer He was born in the bishopric of Durham, according to Raissius ; others say at Richmond, in Yorkshire. He was master of arts in one of our universities; but going abroad to Douay, in Flanders, was received into the English college there, 1576, and made priest in 1577; and the year following sent upon the mission. Where he had not been long before he again went abroad, and travelled to Rome, partly for devotion, and partly for further improvement in learning. Here he remained in the English college till 1580, when he returned into England, and was not long after apprehended: for I find by a printed diary of things transacted in the Tower of London from 1580 till 1585, that on the 5th of December, 1580, Luke Kirby, Thomas Cottam , and other priests, were brought to the Tower from other prisons; and that these two, on the 10th...
Post a Comment
Read more

BL. RICHARD NEWPORT, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 30 MAY

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY Saints celebrated on the 30th of May WELCOME! BLESSED RICHARD NEWPORT, PRIEST AND MARTYR Richard Newport, alias Smith , was born in Northamptonshire and performed his studies abroad, partly in the college of Rheims (if he be the Richard Smith whom I find in the Douay diary sent to Rome in 1586) and partly in that of Rome, where he was made priest. From thence he was sent upon the English mission, and behaved himself in such a manner as justly to acquire the character of a laborious missionary; being withal remarkably successful in bringing home many strayed sheep to the fold of Christ, to which his apostolical way of living did not a little contribute.  He was several times apprehended and cast into prison, and twice banished. His name occurs amongst those who were transported in 1606; at which time, we are told, he took that opportunity of making a pilgrimage to Rome, there to pour forth his prayers at the tombs of the apostles, in behalf of thi...
Post a Comment
Read more