Today, 18 May, is the feast of ...
Venantius, martyr (257): This martyr of Camerino upon professing himself a
Christian to a Roman judge was scourged, seared with torches, suspended
head downward over fire and smoke, had his teeth knocked out and his jaw
broken, was thrown to the lions who only licked his feet, was thrown -
without suffering any injury - from a high cliff, and finally had his head
cut off, with a number of other martyrs who had declared themselves
Christians after witnessing the spectacle of his constancy.
Theodotus, Thecusa and their companions, martyrs (304)
Potamon, bishop of Heraclea, martyr (340): Doubly a martyr inasmuch as he
suffered cruel persecution first for vindicating the Catholic faith before
heathens and then for defending the divinity of Christ before the Arians.
Eric of Sweden, martyr (1161): Eric was acknowledged king in most parts of
Sweden in 1150. He did much to establish Christianity in Upper Sweden and
built at Old Uppsala the first large church to be erected in his country.
The king's zeal for Christianity was far from pleasing to some of his
nobles, and thus they entered into a conspiracy with Magnus, prince of
Denmark. Eric was hearing Mass on the day after the feast of the Ascension
when news was brought that a Danish army, swollen with Swedish rebels, was
marching against him and quickly approaching. He answered calmly: "Let us
at least finish the sacrifice: the rest of the feast I shall keep
elsewhere." After Mass was over, he recommended his soul to God, and
marched forth in advance of his guards. The conspirators rushed upon him,
beat him down from his horse, and cut off his head.
William of Toulouse, Hermit of St Augustine (1369): At his profession he
made a triple promise dedicating himself to the Holy Trinity. With the vow
of obedience he offered himself to the Father, with the vow of poverty to
the Son, and with the vow of chastity to the Holy Ghost. A great preacher
and promoter of prayer for the souls in Purgatory, he was once visited by
a wealthy woman who gave him gold, requesting his prayers for her deceased
relations. He began to pray: "Eternal rest give to them, O Lord: and let
perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace," and then he
ended, much to the disappointment of his visitor who expected more prayers
for her money. William told her that she should write down his prayer and
weigh it in a balance with her bag of gold. She did so and the money rose
while the scale was heavily weighed down by the prayer. William had a
reputation for delivering those possessed by devils, but was himself
troubled by evil spirits, who sometimes appeared to him in visible form
and tried to do him bodily harm.
Carolyn Muessig
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