SAINT OF THE DAY -- April 13 - Saint Martin I
April 13
St. Martin IMartyred Pope 649 - 655(d. 655)
In life Martin was disgraced, loaded with chains and exiled, but after death, miracles were worked at his tomb.
When Martin I became pope in 649, Constantinople was the capital of the
Byzantine empire and the patriarch of Constantinople was the most
influential Church leader in the eastern Christian world. The struggles
that existed within the Church at that time were magnified by the close
cooperation of emperor and patriarch.
A
teaching, strongly supported in the East, held that Christ had no human
will. Twice emperors had officially favored this position, Heraclius by
publishing a formula of faith and Constans II by silencing the issue of
one or two wills in Christ.
Shortly after assuming the office of
the papacy (which he did without first being confirmed by the emperor),
Martin held a council at the Lateran in which the imperial documents
were censured, and in which the patriarch of Constantinople and two of
his predecessors were condemned. Constans II, in response, tried first
to turn bishops and people against the pope.
Failing in this and
in an attempt to kill the pope, the emperor sent troops to Rome to
seize Martin and to bring him back to Constantinople. Martin, already
in poor health, offered no resistance, returned with the exarch
Calliopas and was then submitted to various imprisonments, tortures and
hardships. Although condemned to death and with some of the torture
imposed already carried out, Martin was saved from execution by the
pleas of a repentant Paul, patriarch of Constantinople, who himself was
gravely ill.
Martin died shortly thereafter, tortures and cruel
treatment having taken their toll. He is the last of the early popes to
be venerated as a martyr.
Comment:
The real significance of the word martyr
comes not from the dying but from the witnessing, which the word means
in its derivation. People who are willing to give up everything, their
most precious possessions, their very lives, put a supreme value on the
cause or belief for which they sacrifice. Martyrdom, dying for the
faith, is an incidental extreme to which some have had to go to
manifest their belief in Christ. A living faith, a life that
exemplifies Christ's teaching throughout, and that in spite of
difficulties, is required of all Christians. Martin might have
temporized; he might have sought means to ease his lot, to make some
accommodations with the civil rulers.
Quote:The
breviary of the Orthodox Church pays tribute to Martin: “Glorious
definer of the Orthodox Faith...sacred chief of divine dogmas,
unstained by error...true reprover of heresy...foundation of bishops,
pillar of the Orthodox faith, teacher of religion.... Thou didst adorn
the divine see of Peter, and since from this divine Rock, thou didst
immovably defend the Church, so now thou art glorified with him.”
Source: American Catholic Organization
Many great miracles have been associated with
the Rosary throughout history. The tremendous power of the Rosary can
overcome any problem, be it small or large, personal or worldwide.
Miracles continue to the present day.
The Rosary is a powerful prayer!
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If you are a victim of domestic or sexual violence, please know that my husband and I pray for you every single night.
If you need immediate assistance, dial 911.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-800-799-SAFE OR (1-800-799-7233)
SIGNS OF AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
Do you:
feel afraid of your partner much of the time?
avoid certain topics fear of angering your partner?
feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?
believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?
wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?
feel emotionally numb or helpless?
Does your partner:
- humiliate, criticize, or yell at you?
- treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see?
- ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?
- blame you for his own abusive behavior?
- see you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?
Does your partner:
have a bad and unpredictable temper?
hurt you, or threaten to hurt or kill you?
threaten to take your children away or harm them?
threaten to commit suicide if you leave?
force you to have sex?
destroy your belongings?
Does your partner:
- act excessively jealous and possessive?
- control where you go or what you do?
- keep you from seeing your friends or family?
- limit your access to money, the phone, or the car?
- constantly check up on you?