Lives of the Saints
1. PRIEST-MARTYR ARTEMON
He was a priest in Laodicea during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Before the judge and torturer he spoke thus of himself: "My name is Artemon, a servant of Christ my God; for 16 years I was a reader and read the books in the church of my God; for 28 years I was a deacon and read the Holy Gospel; 33 years I have completed as a presbyter, teaching the people and guiding them on the way of salvation with the help of Christ." The judge led him into the temple of Aesculapius, where the priests especially tended great serpents consecrated to that "god." Everyone expected the serpents to bite Artemon. But he made the sign of the Cross and by the power of the Cross he pinned all the serpents to the ground so that they could not move. He then led them all out into the courtyard, breathed upon them, and killed them all in an instant. Everyone was in great terror. And the chief priest of that temple, Vitalius, seeing this miracle, fell on his knees before Artemon and cried out: "Great is the God of the Christians!" And the martyr baptized him together with some of his friends. But the malicious judge remained obstinate in his malice and tormented the aged Artemon with various tortures. On one occasion he sought to cast him into boiling pitch, but he himself was thrown from his horse into it and was burned to death. Two eagles were seen to swoop down upon him, lift him from his horse, and hurl him into the pitch. Saint Artemon remained free for a time and went about, always accompanied by his two beloved deer, teaching the people. But he was again seized and beheaded in the year 303. And his soul departed to the Kingdom of Christ God, our Lord, Whom the holy Artemon had faithfully served.
2. HOLY MARTYR CRESCENT
From the city of Myra in Lycia. An honorable and renowned citizen. He publicly confessed his faith in Christ and mocked the dead idols. For this he was put to death by fire by the pagans.
3. HOLY MARTYR THOMAIS
Born in Alexandria of honorable parents; taught piety from childhood and in her fifteenth year married to an honorable husband. But her father-in-law was a vile old man, and in the absence of his son he assaulted his daughter-in-law and sought to dishonor her. Thomais was terrified, and in her fear she reminded her father-in-law of the law of God and tried to escape from his hands. After a long struggle, the father-in-law drew a knife and slew his daughter-in-law, cutting her body in two. At that very moment the punishment of God overtook him: he was instantly blinded and could not find the door to leave, but was found there in the room and handed over to the court, which condemned him to death. Thus Thomais suffered for the commandment of God concerning conjugal faithfulness and purity. It happened afterward that many who were tormented by the passion of lust raised their prayers to Saint Thomais and received from her powerful help. The great ascetic Daniel transferred her relics to Scetis, and there laid them in the burial ground of the priest-monks. Saint Thomais suffered in the year 476.
“Two eagles were seen to swoop down upon him, lift him from his horse, and hurl him into the pitch.”
Hymn of Praise
HOLY MARTYR THOMAIS
He who suffers for an evil deed
Has no portion with the angels;
But he who suffers for the will of God,
And for Christ's sake endures affliction,
Whether from the faithful or the faithless,
That one shall behold the face of God.
Thomais, handmaid of God,
Was in heart a true woman of prayer,
Yet she suffered for the law of God
At the hand of her violent father-in-law.
-- Leave off, father-in-law, from my wretched body!
Dost thou not fear God the Most High?
The human body -- though it be mere clay --
For the soul's sake is given us by God.
If we defile the body with sin,
We break the wings of our own soul,
We sever it from the living God,
And give it as prey to the wicked one.
Blinded by passion, the father-in-law cut her asunder:
-- God forgive! the righteous woman said.
But blindness overtook the murderer --
A twofold blind man crawls through Hell.
“Blinded by passion, the father-in-law cut her asunder: God forgive! the righteous woman said.”
Reflection
When the Martyr Crescent, a nobleman of Myra in Lycia, was brought to trial, the judge long counseled him to bow down before the idols. And when he had no success in this, he finally said to Crescent: "Bow down only with the body, but in thy soul worship thy God!" To this the honorable Crescent replied: "The body can do nothing independently of the soul, which is its mover and guide." And for this Crescent was slain. -- A clear lesson that a Christian cannot be two-faced. And one more beyond that: that a Christian has a duty to serve his Creator with the body as well, and not only with the soul. By this is also refuted the false position of certain Christians who live bodily as pagans, yet boast that they believe in God with their soul and love God with their soul. They divide themselves in two and place themselves in the service of two masters, even though the Most Holy Lips have declared this to be an impossibility.
“A Christian cannot be two-faced. A Christian has a duty to serve his Creator with the body as well, and not only with the soul.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the risen Lord Jesus, namely:
1. How because of Thomas, at that moment the only unbeliever among the disciples, He again appears in His glorified body;
2. How Thomas with his fingers touched the scars of the wounds on the most pure body of the Lord, and believed.
Homily
on the experience of Thomas
My Lord and my God (John 20:28)!
When the Apostle Thomas touched the wounds of the Lord Jesus, he exclaimed: My Lord and my God! When Mary Magdalene heard the voice of the Risen One, she exclaimed in her soul: My Lord and my God! When Saul saw the light and heard the words of the Risen One, he acknowledged: My Lord and my God! When the pagans marveled at the sight of countless martyrs joyfully enduring torments and asked them Who this Christ was, each one answered: My Lord and my God! When the scoffers mocked the armies of ascetics and asked them Who He was for Whose sake they laid upon themselves a heavy discipline, all had but one answer: My Lord and my God! When the mockers mocked the maidens who vowed to live in virginity and asked them Who He was for Whose sake they renounced marriage, all had but one answer: My Lord and my God! When the lovers of silver asked with wonder the many rich men Who He was for Whose sake they gave away their wealth and became paupers, all of them answered one and the same: My Lord and my God! Some saw Him and said: My Lord and my God! Some only heard Him and said: My Lord and my God! Some touched Him and said: My Lord and my God! Some perceived Him in the fabric of events and in the destinies of nations and said: My Lord and my God! Some felt His presence in their own lives and exclaimed: My Lord and my God! Some recognized Him by a certain sign, upon themselves or upon others, and exclaimed: My Lord and my God! And some merely heard of Him from others, and believed, and exclaimed: My Lord and my God! Truly, these last are the most blessed! Let us too, all of us, exclaim with all our hearts, however we may have come to the knowledge of Him or to awareness of Him: My Lord and my God! To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Some saw Him and believed. Some only heard Him. Some touched Him. And some merely heard of Him from others, and believed. Truly, these last are the most blessed!”