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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 consecrated bishop of Illyricum at the age of twenty. After converting and then baptizing an imperial official 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 wagon drawn by wild horses. He was dragged up a mountain 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. **************** Dr Carolyn Muessig Department of Theology and Religious Studies University of Bristol Bristol BS8 1TB UK phone: +44(0)117-928-8168 fax: +44(0)117-929-7850 e-mail: [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%