Lives of the Saints
1. PRIEST-MARTYR ANTIPAS, BISHOP OF PERGAMON IN ASIA
He is mentioned in the Book of Revelation as Antipas my faithful witness (2:13), who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth, that is, in the city of Pergamon. The inhabitants of this city lived in the darkness of idol-worship and in extreme impurity; they were slaves to passion, slanderers, men of violence, those guilty of blood-mixture — in a word, servants of Satan. And there in the midst of them Antipas dwelt "as light in the midst of darkness, as a rose in the midst of thorns, as gold in the midst of mire." He was considered good and righteous who might seize and kill a Christian. The entire pagan faith consisted in soothsaying, in the interpretation of dreams, in the service of demons, and in extreme debauchery. Terrified of Antipas as of fire, the demons appeared to the priests in a dream and confessed how they feared Antipas and how they were compelled on his account to flee from that city. The priests stirred up a crowd of people against Antipas and began to torture him and drive him to renounce Christ and bow down to idols. Antipas said to them: "When your so-called gods, the lords of the universe, are afraid of me, a mortal man, and are compelled to flee from this city — do you not recognize from this that your entire faith is delusion?" And the saint spoke to them further of the Christian Faith as the one true and saving Faith. But they raged like wild beasts and dragged the elder Antipas before the temple of Artemis, before which stood a bronze bull that had been cast. They heated the bull with fire and cast the servant of God inside. Saint Antipas, within the fiery bull, glorified God with thanksgiving, as once Jonah in the whale or the three youths in the fiery furnace. And Antipas prayed for his flock and for all the world until his soul was parted from his frail body and soared among the angels into the Kingdom of Christ. He expired in torment and was crowned with unfading glory in the year 92.
2. HOLY MARTYRS PROCESSUS AND MARTINIANUS
They were prison guards at the Roman prison where the Apostles Peter and Paul were imprisoned. Hearing the apostles' words and witnessing their miracles, they were baptized and released the apostles from prison. The apostles departed from Rome, but the Lord appeared to Peter on the road as he walked toward Rome. "Where goest Thou, Lord?" Peter asked Him. And the Lord answered that He was going to Rome to be crucified again. Ashamed, the apostles returned to the city, where they were seized and slain. Along with them these two valiant martyrs, Processus and Martinianus, were also beheaded.
Hymn of Praise
IN THE FIERY BULL AS IN A BRIGHT TEMPLE
In the fiery bull as in a bright temple
Antipas the Christian suffers no loneliness:
In his pure heart the Lord abides,
Neither does the fire burn him, nor does dread assail him.
The saint patiently endures all things for Christ
And raises his prayers to Christ from out of the fire:
— O all-powerful Christ, King of all ages,
A hundred times I give Thee thanks for these sufferings!
Let all that is sinful in me be consumed by fire
That I might be of greater worth by heaven's reckoning.
I pray Thee, O Savior, guard Thou my flock
In this city, in this mire of passions!
May my blood strengthen them in the Faith
And cleave their hearts to Thy love.
And for the pagans also I pray Thee, O Gracious One,
Tear them once and for all from demonic deceit;
And for all sinners who revile Thy law,
Direct them to serve Thee alone.
Behold, all things are within the power of Thy holy will —
My last petition: may it go better for the Church!
“Let all that is sinful in me be consumed by fire, that I might be of greater worth by heaven's reckoning.”
Reflection
"There is no rest on earth for those who desire salvation," says Saint Ephrem the Syrian. The struggle is ceaseless, whether from without or from within. The enemy acts at one moment visibly through people and other created things, at another invisibly through thoughts. At one moment he appears openly as an enemy and acts with brutality; at another, under the guise of a flattering friend, he leads astray by cunning. What takes place in a war between two opposing armies takes place also for every individual person in the struggle against the temptations of this world. Truly, "there is no rest on earth for those who desire salvation." But when salvation comes, rest also comes.
“There is no rest on earth for those who desire salvation. But when salvation comes, rest also comes.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the risen Lord Jesus, namely:
1. How Simon Peter and the other disciple ran quickly to the tomb to verify the news of the Lord's Resurrection.
2. How they entered the tomb one after another and saw the burial garments and the face-cloth.
3. How both of them saw and believed, and thereafter bore witness, and for their witness died.
Homily
on on the two Adams: the death-bringing and the life-giving
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22)
In Adam it is sown in dishonor; in Christ it rises in glory. From Adam is sin; from Christ is righteousness. From Adam is weakness and death; from Christ is strength and life. In accordance with Adam we shall all die; in accordance with Christ we shall all be made alive. That one is the earthly man; this One is the heavenly Man. That one is the bodily man; this One is the spiritual Man. Christ did not rise for His own sake but for our sake, just as He did not die for His own sake but for our sake. If His Resurrection does not also signify our resurrection, then His Resurrection is bitterness and not sweetness. Where then would be the love of God? And where the meaning of all our wretched earthly existence? And where the meaning of Christ's coming to earth? Where Adam ends, Christ begins. Adam ends in the tomb; Christ begins with the Resurrection from the tomb. The lineage of Adam is seed beneath the earth, rotting and decaying, seeing no sun and not believing that it can emerge from beneath the earth and unfold into a green plant with leaves, blossom, and fruit. The lineage of Christ is a greening field, in which the wheat grows and turns green, and puts forth leaves, and blossoms, and brings forth abundant fruit.
In Adam does not mean only that we shall one day die — it means that we are already dead, dead every one of us. In Christ does not mean only that we shall one day be made alive — it means that we are already made alive, that is, the seed has begun to sprout in the earth and to push upward toward the light of the sun. But the full expression of death is the tomb, and the full expression of immortal life is in the Kingdom of God. The mind of Adam's sons agrees with death, makes peace with corruption, and sinks ever deeper into the earth. The mind of Christ's sons rebels against death and corruption and strains ever more to bring man to blossom into the light, and to this the grace of God also lends its aid. O risen Lord, sober the minds of all the sons of men, that they might flee from darkness and destruction and reach out toward the light and eternal life that is in Thee. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“The mind of Adam's sons agrees with death, makes peace with corruption, and sinks ever deeper into the earth.”