SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 22ND

MEMORIAL OF SAINT VINCENT OF SARAGOSSA, DEACON AND MARTYR AND SAINT ANASTASIUS THE PERSIAN, MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 22ND: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr and Saint Anastasius the Persian, Martyr.

SAINT VINCENT OF SARAGOSSA, DEACON AND MARTYR: St Vincent of Saragossa (Died 304) was Archdeacon and Protomartyr of Spain. He was a Preacher, assistant to St. Valerius of Saragossa (Died 315), who was his Bishop and whose Memorial is also today. St. Vincent was born at Huesca, near Saragossa, Spain sometime during the latter part of the 3rd century;  it is believed his father was Eutricius (Euthicius) and his mother was Enola, a native of Osca. When quite a child, applied himself to study. St. Vincent spent most of his life in the city of Saragossa, where he was educated and taught the sacred sciences and ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Valerius of Saragossa, who commissioned Vincent to preach throughout the diocese. Because Valerius suffered from a speech impediment, Vincent acted as his spokesman. When the Roman Emperor Diocletian began persecuting Christians in Spain, both were brought before the Roman governor, Dacian in Valencia. St. Vincent and his bishop Valerius were confined to the prison of Valencia. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scripture to the fire, Vincent refused. Speaking on behalf of his bishop, he informed the judge that they were ready to suffer everything for their faith and that they could pay no heed either to threats or promises. His outspoken manner so angered the governor that Vincent was inflicted every sort of torture on him. He was stretched on the rack and his flesh torn with iron hooks. Then his wounds were rubbed with salt and he was burned alive upon a red-hot gridiron. Finally, he was cast into prison and laid on a floor scattered with broken pottery, where he died. During his martyrdom he preserved such peace and tranquillity that it astonished his jailer, who repented from his sins and was converted. St. Vincent’s dead body was thrown into the sea in a sack but was later recovered by the Christians and his veneration immediately spread throughout the Church. The aged bishop Valerius was exiled.

According to legend, after being martyred, ravens protected St Vincent’s body from being devoured by vultures, until his followers could recover the body. His body was taken to what is now known as Cape St Vincent; a shrine was erected over his grave, which continued to be guarded by flocks of ravens (Church of the Raven).  King Afonso I of Portugal (1139–1185) had the body of the saint exhumed in 1173 and brought it by ship to the Lisbon Cathedral.   This transfer of the relics is depicted on the coat of arms of Lisbon. Though Vincent’s tomb in Valencia became the earliest centre of his cult, he was also honoured at his birthplace and his reputation spread from Saragossa. A church was built in honour of Vincent, by the Catholic bishops of Iberia, when they succeeded in converting King Reccared and his nobles to Trinitarian Christianity. St Vincent’s left arm is on display as a relic in Valencia Cathedral, located near the extensive Carrer de Sant Vicent Mártir (Saint Vincent the Martyr Street). He’s Patron Saint of Lisbon, Valencia, Valencia, Vicenza (Italy), Sao Vicente, vine dressers, vinegar makers, vintners, wine growers, wine makers and the Order of the Deacons of the Diocese of Bergamo (Italy).

O God, who didst wonderfully, with manifold sufferings, crown thy servant Vincent, and didst deliver him from the effects of his torments, to the end that he might gloriously trample upon each cruel punishment with those feet of his, that had never trod in the mire of vice, who didst, moreover, save him from the deep waters, to the end that he, whose spirit had despised the world, might be near to his heritage in heaven: grant unto us, by the prayers of this so great a Martyr, that we may never be defiled by the mire of sin, nor be plunged in the deep pool of despair, but may be presented to thee, on the day of judgment, beautified with a spotless freedom of conscience. Amen🙏

SAINT ANASTASIUS THE PERSIAN, MARTYR: St. Anastasius was a former magician and soldier, converted to Christianity, became a monk and was martyred in 628. He was the son of a Persian sorcerer named Bavi. As a pagan, he had the name Magundates and served in the armies of the Persian emperor Chozroes II, who in 614 ravaged the city of Jerusalem and carried away the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord to Persia. Great miracles occurred from the Cross of the Lord, and the Persians were astonished. The heart of young Magundates was inflamed with the desire to learn more about this sacred object. Asking everyone about the Holy Cross, the youth learned that upon it the Lord Himself was crucified for the salvation of mankind. He became acquainted with the truths of the Christian Faith in the city of Chalcedon, where the army of Chozroes was for a certain while. He was baptized with the name Anastasius, and then became a monk and spent seven years in one of the Jerusalem monasteries, living an ascetical life.

Reading the Lives of the holy martyrs, Saint Anastasius was inspired with the desire to imitate them. A mysterious dream, which he had on Great and Holy Saturday, the day before the Resurrection of Christ, urged him to do this. Having fallen asleep after his daily tasks, he beheld a radiant man giving him a golden chalice filled with wine, who said to him, “Take this and drink.” Draining the chalice, he felt an ineffable delight. Saint Anastasius then realized that this vision was his call to martyrdom. He went secretly from the monastery to Palestinian Caesarea. There he was arrested for being a Christian, and was brought to trial. The governor tried in every way to force Saint Anastasius to renounce Christ, threatening him with tortures and death, and promising him earthly honors and blessings. The saint, however, remained unyielding. Then they subjected him to torture: they beat him with rods, they lacerated his knees, they hung him up by the hands and tied a heavy stone to his feet, they exhausted him with confinement, and then wore him down with heavy work in the stone quarry with other prisoners.

Finally, the governor summoned Saint Anastasius and promised him his freedom if he would only say, “I am not a Christian.” The holy martyr replied, “I will never deny my Lord before you or anyone else, neither openly nor even while asleep. No one can compel me to do this while I am in my right mind.” Then by order of the emperor Chozroes, Saint Anastasius was strangled, then beheaded. He was martyred together with seventy other Christians. After the death of Chozroes, St. Anastasius’ relics were, at first, carried to Jerusalem, to the Monastery, where he had professed the monastic life; afterwards, they were translated to Rome, and were deposited in the monastery near the Salvian Waters.

PRAYER: Hear, O Lord, our earnest prayers, that we who are sensible of the guilt of our crimes, may be delivered therefrom by the prayers of thy blessed Martyr Anastasius. Through Christ our Lord. Amen🙏