SEPTEMBER 3 – ST. SERAPHIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR.
ST. SERAPHIA was born at Antioch, of Christian parents, who, flying from the persecutions of Adrian, went to Italy and settled there. Her parents dying, Seraphia was sought in marriage by many, but having resolved to consecrate herself to God alone, she sold all her possessions and distributed the proceeds to the poor; finally she sold herself into a voluntary slavery and entered the service of a Roman lady, named Sabina. The piety of Seraphia, her love of work, and her charity soon gained the heart of her mistress, who was not long in becoming a Christian. Having been denounced as a follower of Christ, Seraphia was condemned to death. She was at first placed on a burning pile, but remained uninjured by the flames. Almost despairing of being able to inflict death upon her, the prefect Berillus ordered her to be beheaded, and she thus received the crown which she so richly merited. Her mistress gathered her remains, and interred them with every mark of respect. Sabina, meeting with a martyr’s death, a year after, was laid in the same tomb with her faithful servant. As early as the fifth century, there was a church at Rome placed under their invocation.
REFLECTION: Christian courage bears relation to our faith: “If we continue in the faith, grounded, and settled, and immovable,” all things will be found possible to us.
WORD OF THE DAY
RESIGNATION. The acceptance of God’s will in all circumstances of life, and especially during heavy trial or suffering. Also called abandonment, it has as its object the submission of one’s own preferences or hopes to the dispositions of Providence. In canon law, resignation is the voluntary withdrawal of a person duly elected or appointed to an ecclesiastical office. In order to be valid, the resignation must be accepted by an authorized person or body in the Church.
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
This article, SEPTEMBER 3 – ST. SERAPHIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR. is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/september-3-st-seraphia-virgin-and-martyr/
Do not repost the entire article without written permission. Reasonable excerpts may be reposted so long as it is linked to this page.
