In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Ever since He spoke these words, men and women have given their lives for the sake of Christ. Another name for this ultimate sacrifice is martyrdom. Two examples of martyrs are St. Cecilia and Mary Sameh George. Although separated by several centuries, both of these women had tremendous courage and faith, and because of this, it is fascinating to learn more about who they were and why they did what they did. Most of what we know about Saint Cecilia of Rome is purely legend. However, the story fabricated over the …show more content…
They reported that “The body was found perfectly entire, whilst the graceful and modest figure of the saint, [was] preserved so miraculously after so many centuries (Gueranger, 270).” For this and other reasons, Cecilia became known as a saint. Cecilia was never canonized in the traditional sense of the matter. She was recognized as a saint, because of her martyrdom, by a local priest around the time of her death, before canonization was practiced. Nevertheless, St. Cecelia is one of the seven saints in the Roman Canon who are women. She is given this high honor because of her virginity, and her willingness to give up her life rather than renounce her faith in Jesus Christ and the Trinity. St. Cecilia is also recognized in the Catholic religion as the patron saint of music. This is because it is said that she heard heavenly music during her wedding, which signified that God would recognize her vow of purity, and that He would protect her virginity. It is also believed that she replied to this music with a song of her own. For this reason, St. Cecilia is the object of many music festivals, poems, musical compositions, and pieces of art, which typically portray her with some sort of musical instrument, most often an organ. She is also specifically linked to all of the music of the Church. Blessing of church musicians and their talents is often a subject …show more content…
Cecilia nor Mary Sameh George were afraid to resist those in power in order to proclaim the truth. St. Cecilia did it openly, by defying the governmental authority with the apprehended threat of death. Mary also protested against the evil power, though in a more subtle way, simply by hanging a cross in her car. Both of these strong women knew the danger that could, and eventually would, befall them, and yet, they did it anyway. They were somehow possessed of a greater power, than anything known to our human weakness. By allowing God to work through them, and not excluding their safety, they have set an example that every Christian should follow. Not everyone will be called to give their lives for Christ, but all are called to give their beings to Him, their attitudes, their wants, their cares. St. Cecilia’s and Mary Sameh George’s stories are not only devastating examples of human cruelty, their martyrdom is also an amazing lesson, if only it is chosen to be
Mary Wade, born on the 5th of October 1777 was the youngest convict to be sent to Australia. Before her life as a convict, she would sweep and beg on the streets of London to make her living.
Mary Bryant was in the group of the first convicts (and the only female convict) to ever escape from the Australian shores. Mary escaped from a penal colony which often is a remote place to escape from and is a place for prisoners to be separated. The fact that Bryant escaped from Australia suggests that she was a very courageous person, this was a trait most convicts seemed to loose once they were sentenced to transportation. This made her unique using the convicts.
Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers and children, is one of the most popular yet mysterious saints of the Catholic Church. Though considered a saint. Saint Christopher is not in the official canon of the saints, and not much is really known about him. It is theorized that Saint Christopher was actually a martyr named Reprobus who was beheaded in the third century.
Throughout history there have been many cases of women who possess strong powers and a passion for God, especially in the Middle Ages. One woman that fit into that category was Margery Kempe, a fifteenth-century visionary, who was a controversial figure in the Christian faith. Margery insisted that Jesus talked to her, while many people thought that she was being possessed by the devil. During the time of The Middle Ages many stories of women saints were being exposed with many differences from Kempe’s life, however there were some surprising similarities as well. Medieval female saints and martyrs were intended to be chaste if they were single and virtuous if they are married. They were also extremely devoted and pure to Christ, not giving in to any temptations. Kempe seems to be tempted by men, but then immediately followed by shame. On the other hand she posse’s qualities the saints share like, visions, passion, a desire to be chaste and, commitment. Saint Margaret of Antioch is one of the saints that appear often in “The Book of Margery Kempe”. She is a martyr who death occurred sometime in the late thirteenth century. Unlike the
“ A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves.” ~Mother Teresa. Servicemen like firefighters, police officers, and military personnel sacrifice their lives every single day. Harriet Tubman made over a dozen trips to the South to help free slaves. Moche’ from the novel Night, went back to his home to warn his friends and family about what was about to happen to them. However, Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice. How much do people sacrifice? These people risk their lives, freedom, and safety. Not everyone is a selfish person, people like to help other people. That’s just humanity.
A saint is a virtuous person that is honored by church after death who is considered to a degree of holiness and is blessed. In most Christian denominations think all people are saints in the Catholic Church the term saint is given to a person whom which the church has officially been canonized. Furthermore, the Catholic Church explains that they do not create or make a saint; however, they recognize saints. In fact, Frances Xavier Cabrini or as many people refer to her as Mother Cabrini is the first person to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
During the Medieval period the Catholic Church had an enormous amount of power and control over the people of that time. The Medieval period began with the collapse of the Roman Empire around the year 450. Then with much of Europe in disarray, the Roman Catholic Church, the main unifying force at the time, unified many cultures together. “All segments of society felt the powerful influence of the Roman Catholic Church. In this age of faith, hell was very real and heresy was the gravest crime” (Kamien 63). The church controlled everything and it was of greatest importance in this period. “Very little non-Christian music from this period survived, due to its suppression by the Church and the absence of music notation…” (History of Music). The enormous Gothic Cathedrals and churches demonstrate how powerful and important the church was. The amount of physical labor put into each one shows the devotion of the people to God and the church in the medieval time period. Life in these times revolved around the church so it makes sense that the music of this time also revolved around it. The composers of this era were often involved with the church. They were usually priests, monks, or nuns. For example Hildegard of Bingen, a nun from Germany, who, wrote many musical pieces and other forms of art.
The martyrs in the document take on the role of mediator between God and man, spreading the Word of God to the masses of people and the relaying to them his holy message, in a sense taking on the role of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Perpetua, one of the martyrs when confronted about her faith by her father retorts, “I am Christian” (para.6). Another martyr, Felicity, confidently defends her faith and proclaims it openly by stating, “Stand fast in the faith, and love you all one another; and be not offended because of our passion” (para.20). This statement portrays to the reader the ...
Teresa Sánchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada lived in Avila, Spain where she was born in 1515 and lived during the Reformation until her death at age 67. She was canonized in 1622, forty years after her death. St. Teresa's grandmother was forced to be converted from a Jew into a Christian during the Inquisition. Without her grandmother’s conversion, St. Teresa would never have become a Christian saint. Her parents were Godly people and showed tremendous integrity.
She found out about this saint when her sister told her one day: “keep praying to Saint Peregrine”. She was not aware of whom this person was, but nevertheless, she took her sister’s word and continued to pray to him. Then suddenly one day, she received a small book with a picture of Saint Peregrine on the front, from my cousin Jonalyn. Inside was the story of Saint Peregrine’s upbringing and the miraculous tale of how his cancer was cured. Ever since then, my mother continued to learn about the saint and she acquired many pictures, statuettes and other little memorabilia that had any relation to this particular saint. She adored Saint Peregrine and what the stood for. My mom was able to turn to him whenever she was in need of help and eventually, her state became better. She is currently almost completely cancer-free, but until that day, she says she will continue to pray to Saint
In the early stages of Catherine's life the surfacing modern age was bringing with it social turmoil which spread throughout Europe (Giordani 3). During Catherine's lifetime, according to Mary Ann Sullivan in her essay “St. Catherine of Siena,” the center of Catholic rule fluctuated between Rome and Avignon and contributed to a schism between popes in Italy and France (1). Catherine was born 23rd in a line of 25 children and, according to Sullivan “even at a young age, [she] sensed the troubled society around her and wanted to help” (1). While her parents were not exceptionally religious, St. Catherine's biographer Blessed Raymond of Capua discusses Catherine's early zeal for Catholic practices: “When she was about five she learned the Hail Mary, and repeated it over and over again as often as she could…she was inspired by heaven to address the Blessed Virgin in this way whenever she went up and down stairs, stopping to kneel on each step as she did so” (24). Her devotion to the Virgin Mary would become especially important in a vision she had around this time while walking with her brother to visit one of her sisters.
In fact, understood this way, Christianity even places a distinction between the martyrdom of apostles and the martyrdom of Christians today. “Modern martyrs die for what they sincerely believe to be true, but their knowledge comes secondhand from others.”4 Even those who are killed for their Christianity in current times don 't demonstrate the truth of Christianity, rather the sincerity of their beliefs. The apostles ' martyrdom alone can be used as evidence in support of the resurrection of Jesus, and therefore, the truth of
she became Father Damien. This calls into question how important an identity Sister Cecilia is
Saint Catherine of Siena is the saint that I have chosen to be my saint. She was very interesting to me, and her story was very intriguing. She is the patron saint of fire prevention, bodily ills, sick people, miscarriages, nurses, and illness. She was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II. Her feast day is now celebrated on April 29.