MEMORIAL OF SAINT BENJAMIN, DEACON AND MARTYR – FEAST DAY: Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Benjamin, Deacon and Martyr, who was a minister of the Gospel. The Patron Saint of Preachers; Evangelists. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, St. Benjamin and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all those who preach the gospel, we particularly pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and all the ministers, the Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons and all religious as they continue to work in the vineyard of the Lord. Praying for God’s infinite grace and mercy during this season of Lent, as we reflect on the final journey of Jesus this Holy Week🙏
King Varanes ordered Saint Benjamin to stop preaching and Saint Benjamin replied, “I cannot possibly do that. Those who hide the talent they have received will be given over to greater suffering.”
PRAYER: Almighty, ever-living God, You enabled St. Benjamin to fight for justice even unto death. Through his help, grant that we may tolerate all adversity and hasten with all our might to You Who alone are life. Amen🙏
SAINT BENJAMIN, DEACON AND MARTYR: St. Benjamin (329-424), a martyr of Persia (modern Iran) and a deacon during a forty-year-long Christian persecution under two tyrannical Persian kings, Sassanid rulers Yazdigerd I (Isdegerd, Yazdejerd or Yazdegerd) and his son Varahran (Varanes). He was imprisoned for a year due to his Christian faith and then released with the help of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. He was tortured and impaled. The Christians in Persia had enjoyed twelve years of peace during the reign of King Isdegerd, son of Sapor III, when in 420 it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of Bishop Abdas, a Christian Bishop who out of righteous anger toward idolatry burned the Temple of Fire, the great sanctuary of the Persians. King Isdegerd threatened to destroy all the churches of the Christians unless the Bishop would rebuild it. As Bishop Abdas refused to comply, the threat was executed; the churches were demolished, Bishop Abdas himself was put to death, and a general persecution began that lasted forty years. King Isdegerd died in 421, but his son and successor, Varanes, carried on the persecution with greater fury. The Christians were submitted to the most cruel tortures.
Among those who suffered was St. Benjamin, a deacon, who had been imprisoned a year for his Faith. At the end of this period, an ambassador of the Eastern Roman Emperor of Constantinople, Emperor Theodosius II obtained his release on condition that he would never speak to any of the courtiers about religion or publicly proclaim his faith. Benjamin declared that it was his duty to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he refused to be silenced. Although he had been liberated and the agreement made between the ambassador and the Persian authorities, he would not acquiesce in it, and neglected no opportunity of preaching. He continued preaching Christ crucified, and, when word reached the king, he was arrested again. In response, Benjamin asked the king what opinion he would have of any of his subjects if they were to renounce their allegiance to the king and join in war against him; in the same way Benjamin could not renounce his allegiance to Christ. This comment enraged the king, and he ordered Benjamin to endure cruel suffering and tortures. The tyrant ordered that reeds should be thrust in between his fingernails, toenails and his flesh and into all the tenderest parts of his body and then withdrawn. After this torture had been repeated several times, a knotted stake was inserted into his bowels up through his body, ripping through vital organs. The martyr, St. Benjamin expired in the most terrible agony when a knotted stake was jammed into his bowels in about the year 424. He’s the Patron Saint of Preachers; Evangelists.
King Varanes ordered Saint Benjamin to stop preaching and Saint Benjamin replied, “I cannot possibly do that. Those who hide the talent they have received will be given over to greater suffering.”
PRAYER: “Glorious St.Benjamin, faithful deacon and tireless preacher, hear my prayers and proclaim them before the throne of our Majestic Lord. Neither threat, nor violence could silence your brave hearted confession of Jesus Christ. Your devotion and love for God, preached with such passion, brought about the cruel torture and martyrdom you endured for love of our Divine King. Pray for me, that I may not cower or recoil in fear when subjected to ridicule or threats given to me by those apposed to our Catholic christian faith. St.Benjamin, pray that I accept both the graces and the crosses that come to me with unwavering courage and hope.”..Amen 🙏
Thy martyr, Benjamin, O Lord, by his struggle hath received from thee, our God, the imperishable crown; because, acquiring thy strength, he demolished usurpers and crushed the powerless might of Satan. Therefore, through his intercessions, O Christ God, save our souls…Amen🙏