Today, 18 April, is the feast of ...
Apollonius the Apologist, martyr (185)
Eleutherius and his Companions, martyrs (no date): Eleutherius was a
deacon at sixteen, a priest at eighteen, and then concecrated bishop of
Illyricum at the age of twenty. After converting and then baptizing an
imperial offical sent to arrest him , Eleutherius was brought before the
Emperor Hadrian, who had him bound upon a red-hot iron bedstead. The
martyr's bonds, however, broke spontaneously and he stood up and harangued
the emperor. Hadrian then sent for a large grid, and after many threats he
offered Eleutherius the alternative of either recanting or being roasted
to death. Eleutherius chose death, but the fire went out and could not be
rekindled. Thereupon he was shut up in a hot oven from which he emerged
two hours later entirely unscathed. The enraged emperor ordered him to be
tied by the feet behind a waggon drawn by wild horses. He was dragged up a
montain and into a forest. There he was released by angels and the beasts
of the forest gathered round him like lambs. He remained there until he
was discovered by hunters and delivered to the imperial soldiers. During
the public games he was exposed in the amphitheatre, but a lion and
lioness, let loose upon him, only licked his hands and feet. Eventually he
and eleven companions were clubbed to death.
Laserian, Laisren or Molaisse, bishop of Leighlin (639)
Idesbald, abbot (1167): Abbot of Dunes monastery.
Galdinus, archbishop of Milan and Cardinal (1176): He preached constantly.
On the last day of his life, although too weak to celebrate Mass, he
succeeded in delivering an impassioned sermon against heresy. But the
effort was too much for him: he lost consciousness before he could leave
the pulpit and died as the mass was ending.
James of Lodi, Franciscan tertiary (1404): As a young man James loved to
paint, to sing, to play the lute, and most of all, to dance. He married a
woman named Catherine who was equally addicted to amusement. A severe
epidemic of plague destroyed the amenities of the town, and James went to
stay with his father-in-law in the country. Happening to enter a local
church which contained a reproduction of the Holy Sepulchre, James said to
a companion: "Let's see who is taller - Christ or I." With these flippant
words he lay down at full length on the tomb - but when he stood up again
he was a changed man. From that moment he shunned all former pleasures, he
scourged himself, spent hours in church, painted sacred pictures, and
undertook the care of a sick priest who taught him Latin. Catherine also
converted to a spiritual life. They took a vow of continence, converted
their house into a church and became Franciscan tertiaries.
Carolyn Muessig
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