The Weakness of God is Stronger Than Men

I love this quote!  

My hope is in Christ, who strengthens the weakest by His Divine help.
I can do all in Him who strengthens me.  His Power is infinite, and if I lean on him, it will be mine.
His Wisdom is infinite, and if I look to Him for counsel, I shall not be deceived.
His Goodness is stayed in Him, I shall not be abandoned.
- Pope St. Pius X

As evil and darkness appear to be growing ever stronger in our nation and in the world, it is easy to get discouraged and frightened.  

When we become fearful and discouraged, we must remember that Satan was at his strongest when he "killed God".  Satan must have laughed when he saw Jesus die on the Cross, and thought in pride that all of humanity and the world had been won for himself.  

Yet, Satan's ultimate victory in Christ's death, became the everlasting and eternal victory of God - and Satan's eternal and everlasting defeat!  

"For God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts!" Isaiah 55: 8-9.  

I'm sure Satan believes he again is winning, but God is not dead! 

Let us not listen to his laughter or his lies.  

Let us not fear, for Jesus told us: 

"Fear is useless, what is needed is trust!" Mark 5:37.

God's power is infinitely greater than the trials we are enduring at this time!  

Let us remember the wonders He has done from the beginning and how He was able to form His Universal Church through the same weak men, who (all but one), had been too traumatized and frightened to stand by Jesus at the Cross. The reading the Church offers us today powerfully reminds us of this fact:

From a homily on the first letter to the Corinthians by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

The weakness of God is stronger than men

It was clear through unlearned men that the cross was persuasive, in fact, it persuaded the whole world. Their discourse was not of unimportant matters but of God and true religion, of the Gospel way of life and future judgment, yet it turned plain, uneducated men into philosophers. How the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and his weakness stronger than men!

In what way is it stronger? It made its way throughout the world and overcame all men; countless men sought to eradicate the very name of the Crucified, but that name flourished and grew ever mightier. Its enemies lost out and perished; the living who waged a war on a dead man proved helpless. Therefore, when a Greek tells me I am dead, he shows only that he is foolish indeed, for I, whom he thinks a fool, turn out to be wiser than those reputed wise. So too, in calling me weak, he but shows that he is weaker still. For the good deeds which tax-collectors and fishermen were able to accomplish by God’s grace, the philosophers, the rulers, the countless multitudes cannot even imagine.

Paul had this in mind when he said: The weakness of God is stronger than men. That the preaching of these men was indeed divine is brought home to us in the same way. For how otherwise could twelve uneducated men, who lived on lakes and rivers and wastelands, get the idea for such an immense enterprise? How could men who perhaps had never been in a city or a public square think of setting out to do battle with the whole world? That they were fearful, timid men, the evangelist makes clear; he did not reject the fact or try to hide their weaknesses. Indeed he turned these into a proof of the truth. What did he say of them? That when Christ was arrested, the others fled, despite all the miracles they had seen, while he who was leader of the others denied him!

How then account for the fact that these men, who in Christ’s lifetime did not stand up to the attacks by the Jews, set forth to do battle with the whole world once Christ was dead—if, as you claim, Christ did not rise and speak to them and rouse their courage? Did they perhaps say to themselves: “What is this? He could not save himself but he will protect us? He did not help himself when he was alive, but now that he is dead he will extend a helping hand to us? In his lifetime he brought no nation under his banner, but by uttering his name we will win over the whole world?” Would it not be wholly irrational even to think such thoughts, much less to act upon them?

It is evident, then, that if they had not seen him risen and had proof of his power, they would not have risked so much.

RESPONSORY 1 Corinthians 1:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:8; Romans 8:37

We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and an absurdity to Gentiles,

but to those who have heard his call,

— Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

We are afflicted in every way possible, but in all of these trials the victory is ours,

because of Christ who loves us.

— Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

If God could build and form His Church with such weakness, how much can He do with us -- weak and sinful as we are, if we but put our faith and trust in Him and the power of the Resurrection?!  

Today the Church remembers Bartholomew, one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ's and an amazing saint who brought the faith to Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India and Armenia.  

As we commemorate him, we ask him to remember us in prayer. He, who was so strong in faith that he endured martyrdom by being flayed alive!  

Please, St. Bartholomew, intercede for us in these dark and evil times, and help us remain strong and steadfast in our trials.  

"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies. But this you did not wish. “No,” you said, “Upon horses we will flee.” Very well, flee! “Upon swift steeds we will ride.” Not so swift as your pursuers. A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one; if five threaten you, you shall flee, Until you are left like a flagstaff on the mountaintop, like a flag on the hill. Yet the Lord is waiting to show you favor, and he rises to pity you; For the Lord is a God of justice: blessed are all who wait for him!"  

Isaiah 30: 15-18 

Jesus, have Mercy on us! 

All the martyrs of the Church, pray for us now!  

Mary, Queen of Martyrs, pray for us!

We know we will never hope in vain!

© 2015 Janet Moore. All Rights Reserved. 

- See more at: http://divineoffice.org/0824-or-bartholomew/?title=Aug+24%2C+Office+of+Readings+-+Feast+for+St.+Bartholomew%2C+Ap&date=20150824#sthash.nlYJp3d6.dpuf

Novena to Restore the Foundation and Pillar of the Family; Men and Fathers

A dear friend wrote this novena.  It is so beautiful and profound I wanted to share it with you, and I ask you to please join us in praying for the healing and restoration of fatherhood and families.  

She writes: 

With all the assaults against the family which is the foundation of humanity; we are called to join in prayer, asking the intercession of the pillar and model of the human family. We look to St. Joseph and the Holy Family.  Please join in praying this novena to correct the many disorders tearing apart families in this hour of great distress.  Share and have others join.

Novena to St. Joseph; Husband of Mary, Earthly Father of Jesus

"Dearest St. Joseph; Husband of Mary, Earthly Father of Jesus;

You are a model of devotion, fidelity, holiness, and fatherhood.  Our model of the family of Christ, we call upon you to intercede for all men.  Men who have lost their sense of duty to family, devotion to their spouse, their role as the spiritual godhead of the family.  Men who no longer defend or protect their family.  Please pray that men will cherish their wives and and place the value and sacredness of marriage and family in the way God designed it.  Intercede to help them restore their great duty to be prayerful, spiritual heads and guardians of their families.  Pray that they will return to a state of humility and purity, honoring their wives without taking them for granted.  

Pray that men will rediscover ways to create unity and peace in their homes.  St. Joseph, tender spouse of Mary, you kept your household a place of holiness and sanctuary.  Many homes now lack this.  Pray for our homes to be specially protected from demonic influence.  Show us how to make our homes holy and good, where we are always free to honor and love God.  

St. Joseph, you know that rejection and exclusion destroys intimacy in the marital bonds that God created.  Ask Jesus to help heal this disorder, which has created tragic consequences and led to the dissolving of many marriages. May men respect their wives again, show them great healing love, devotion and dignity. Help couples and families forgive one another, bringing forth new life and healing to old wounds.  Help us all to accept faults and failings in ourselves as well as others, in true charity and love.  

St. Joseph, for families who are fatherless, and the husband is gone - either from abandonment, divorce, sexual confusion, death or addiction, we ask that you personally guard and direct them always to the sanctuary of Our Father in Heaven.  

Dear Father in Heaven, the Father of every created human being, there is no greater Father than you.  We place every family and marriage in your Holy Hands and within Your heart. May every fatherless home have the favor of Your Almighty and powerful Fatherhood, the the tenderness of Your Love; to nurture, fortify, guide, and protect.

For the families destroyed and marred by the evil of pornography, please pour forth Your Holy Spirit and powerfully heal renew and repair all damage and disorder.  We pray Jesus will deliver humanity from this horrific blight of evil which feeds into so many other sexual sins.  We know that abortion, homosexuality and contraception have stemmed from and is connected to this, so we pray for these evils to be crushed out and delivered from the earth forever.

In a special way, we ask for the sexually confused to be healed.  That the attack on the splendor of sexual identity and marriage, which is so under attack in this hour of history, be healed and restored, so that all may see that God Father makes no mistakes.  May it be revealed and understood that Our Father has a powerful destiny, manifested in the sacredness of the sexual identity of every human being; and their path to heaven is rooted in living out their vocation within the order of creation that He set forth upon each individual when they were created.  May each of those suffering with sexual disorders, discover the mystery and splendor of their true sexual identity and be blessed with joy, for living as God intended. 

St. Joseph, we know that when the family, the domestic church, has been restored; society, and the universal church will be restored!  Families will again be strong and magnificent!  St. Joseph, model of family love, hear our prayer."

They Begged Jesus to Leave Their District

"They begged Jesus to leave their district." (Mt. 8:34; cf also Mk 5: 17)

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld - Die Bibel in Bildern

I've always been saddened at the Gospel account when Jesus was asked to leave the territory of the Gadarenes.  In the light of our Supreme Court's redefinition of marriage, reading this passage at Mass again this past week grieved me more than ever.  The Gospel tells us that Jesus came to two demoniacs, who had been so savage that no one could travel near them, and freed them from the power of Satan.  And in return for this kindness, the people of the area begged Him to leave!

If you remember, the demons were sent into a herd of swine, which rushed off a steep bank into the sea, causing the pigs to drown. After witnessing these manifestations of God's power, the people of the district (and the owners of the pigs) begged Jesus to leave them!

I can't help but liken the Gardarenes to many in our nation and in the world today who blatantly live as if God does not exist. Or if they accept His existence, they reject His Word, proclaiming it to be untrue or irrelevant in their lives; and thus, they cast Him far from them. And so sadly, many do not merely beg Him to leave-- but arrogantly and proudly dismiss Him and His Truth as an outdated fable. 

We, as the Gadarenes before us, are choosing to live without Jesus -- to live outside of His laws.  In effect, we are saying we want nothing to do with Jesus as we reject the only One who can free and save us! 

How tragic so few know Jesus -- the One who rent the heavens and came down to earth in utmost love, Who came to bear our sins, burdens and punishments so that we might not only live, but live to the Full -- ABUNDANTLY -- on earth and in eternity!  Jesus truly lived!  His life is a fact that history upholds! Our faith is real. Jesus is truly God enfleshed!  He is Infinite Power and Mercy and the greatest Love each of us will ever know!
He not only saved us, but showed us how to live in harmony with our nature, for we are not mere animals, but human persons made in the image and likeness of God, in Whom, we were created! Therefore, when we follow Christ, we are most truly ourselves.  In contrast, when we sin, we are living at odds against ourselves -- we are living against our own nature! 
We are living against how were made.  

Thus, we must understand that the commandments are not arbitrary rules of a domineering and oppressive God, seeking to destroy any fun we might have. Rather they are the sure means to bring us joy and peace in the depths of our being. Likewise, to the extent that those around us also adhere to the Word of God, is the extent that this peace and joy will exist in our world around us.  

Thus, the true crisis of our times in not a crisis of legislation or of laws and politics, but it is a crisis of faith. It is a crisis of human persons not recognizing their dignity and their immortal nature, and thus, living less than the Truth about themselves, which is revealed to us in Christ.

The Truth is:
We were made by Divine LOVE to LOVE!  When we disregard His Laws, we choose to no longer love. We choose to harm ourselves and others --- and in essence, to beg Jesus, Who is our only HOPE, our Refuge and the only Way to the Father, to leave us ---so we can live as we wish --without Him.

This article is not meant to curse our lot, our times or our nation -- but it is meant to inspire us to become ever more firm in our faith and in our hope in God!  Jesus can change the course of world events in an instant if He chooses. We must cling to this KNOWLEDGE and this FAITH and ask for the grace to grow ever deeper in faith and in love of Him so that our lives might reflect the Truth of His Life, and His glory, goodness and love to others. So, that we become instruments of His Love and Truth to all those who have not yet come to know the love of God!

"All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" that He envisioned for us when He formed us in our mothers' wombs, so this article is not meant as a judgment against others.  Rather, it is a call to the Truth and Love of Christ.  

Satan is a master deceiver. Satan is the one who tells us to never look past our earthly circumstances -- i.e. our current livelihood (pigs) -- and tells us that our emotions, and our own thoughts and judgments transcend God's commands.  Yet, this understanding is faulty and is a great lie, as Augustine so beautifully articulated after finally letting go of "his wants and desires" to live as God intended: 

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!  You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.  In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.  You were with me, but I was not with you.  Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.  You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.  You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.  You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.  I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.  You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

Satan is the liar who tempts us to beg Jesus to leave us, so that we wander aimlessly without Love, Truth, Hope, guidance or the purpose that so deeply fulfills us.

So we must remember that:

"Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens." Eph 6:12 

So what are we to do in this fight against evil? 

St. Paul tells us in the remaining verses of the same passage:

Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power [Who is with us always – ALIVE in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments, in the Body of Christ, His Church].  Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.... that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, [know the Word of God and the teachings and sacraments of the Church] clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, [our goodness and faithfulness to Jesus' teachings will guard and protect our hearts] and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace [ready to go wherever God sends us, and to whomever He sends us to share His Good News]. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one [our faith and trust in Jesus is our shield against Satan's lies, temptations and attacks]. And take the helmet of salvation [know and fill our minds with Jesus. Remembering His passion, death and resurrection that saves us from the eternal death that our sins deserve in order to lead us to eternal joy and union with God that is beyond our capacity to understand] and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [live within the Holy Spirit's power by steeping ourselves in the living Word of God]. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit [pray always, keeping our minds and hearts on Christ through the Holy Spirit]. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must [pray for ourselves and for one another so that we may be steadfast in faith and that God may be able to speak the truth in love through us]. Gal 6:10-20. 

So, let us stand together as a people of God in support of one another, ever ready to give an account of our hope in Christ so as to lead others to Him -- knowing that God does not want us to simply curse the evil in our world, but rather, through deep prayer and Communion with Him, He wants us to be His Light shining in a world of ever-increasing darkness. 

Let us pray....Dear Jesus, help us to stand fast in faith and take seriously the Words You gave us before You ascended into Heaven:  

"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Mt 28: 18-20. 

Help us to share the Good News of Your Life through our lives of love, even if it means that we will be persecuted for sharing this Truth. As St. Peter tells us:

But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. (1 Pet 3: 14-16). 

Thank You, Jesus, for always being with us!  
Jesus, we trust in You!  
Mary, we entrust our world and ourselves into your care, as the Father entrusted His Son to you and formed His human life through you. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, may we, and our children and families, be formed into a likeness of your Son - formed deeply in the love of God so that we may be loving, effective and fearless lights of Christ in this present darkness. 


© Janet Moore 2015. All Rights Reserved. 
Photo Credit here. 

How Did the Early Christians Celebrate the Last Supper?

Early Christian painting of Eucharist

I recently got into an online discussion about the Catholic faith with fellow Christians who are concerned that Catholics ask saints to pray for them.  This discussion led to a further discussion about the Last Supper and the Eucharist.  These discussions arose following my most recent posting of the eye-witness account of Justin Martyr's witness to the Christian faith and his subsequent martyrdom that occurred around 155 AD. 

It is amazing that we have access to what the early Church believed and what they witnessed to in historical documents that have preserved for us to this day.  I share these writings with all Christians in hope that the apologetics they provide will be of benefit to all those who seek to understand how the early Church first worshipped and believed. 

But first, regarding our prayers to early Christians martyrs, I asked:  

Do you ask your friends to pray for you? 
If we die with Christ, we will never die, but live forever.  This is our Christian faith. 
When we ask a holy man who died for our faith to pray for us, we do so because he is alive in heaven and he is our friend.  
"The prayer of a righteous person availeth much."  
Yes, Jesus is the only Way to the Father, as He is the Way, the Truth and the Life,  but He does not begrudge us from asking each other to pray for us.  He wants us to pray for one another. And yes, I prayed to Jesus when I prayed Lord, have mercy on us!  May He still find faith when He returns!

I wonder did you have a chance to read Justin's words of witness to Christ? They are bold and powerful and they proclaim the faith of the early Church. This is why I posted what I did. I'm sorry that it is concerning for you for me to ask Justin to pray for us. Would you ask a fellow Christian who was persecuted for their faith to pray for you and help you to withstand the world's persecution? 
I fear you mistake our request for prayers as something that it is not.  
WE WORSHIP ONLY JESUS CHRIST.  

Regarding your other comments: 

If we read the martyr Justin's writings we also read what the earliest Christians believed about the Last Supper and Jesus' words in the Gospel of John, where Jesus proclaims: 

"Let me solemnly tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink.  The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.  Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me"  John 6: 53-57. 

Justin writes in his First Apology (written some time before 150 AD) about how Jesus' Words at the Last Supper were understood and celebrated in the early Church. Jesus said as He was celebrating the Passover on the night before He died: 

"Take and eat it... this is my body.... All of you must drink this ... for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant,  to be poured out for the forgiveness of sins." Mt. 26:26-28, see also Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22: 14-20; 1 Cor. 11: 23-29.  

Reflecting upon these words, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles and the earliest Church believed this (I quote Justin): 

"We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.
The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.
On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.
The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.
We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration."(end quote).

ALL CHRISTIANS BELIEVED AND LIVED THIS FAITH UP UNTO THE REFORMATION!

I write this because I long for all Christians to understand each other and be united, remembering that on the night before Jesus died, He prayed fervently that WE BE ONE AS HE AND THE FATHER ARE ONE! 

He prayed: 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:20-16)

This is my prayer as well!

May all of us be one, loving one another, as God desires - KNOWING THAT WE MUST BE UNITED IF WE ARE TO STAND AGAINST THE EVIL THAT IS SEEKING TO DESTROY CHRISTIANITY FROM THE MODERN WORLD.

That is why I pray for Christian unity and for all Catholics to be ever ready to give an account for the hope they have in Christ Jesus -- remembering the words of St. Catherine of Siena,

"If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire!"

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the love of the Father and the Son, let us pray:

Come, Blessed Trinity! Set the world on fire with Your Love and Truth! May all Christians know and believe in the Eucharist, God's love, ALIVE among us!

"This (Blessed) Sacrament above all inflames the soul with divine love. "God is love" (1 Jn 3:8). And He is the fire which consumes in our hearts all earthly affections: "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire" (Dt 3:24). Now the Son of God came precisely to kindle this fire of love: "I am come to cast fire in the earth"; and He added that He did not desire other that to see ignited this holy fire in our hearts: "and what will I, but that it be kindled?"(Lk 12:49). And oh what flames of divine love Jesus Christ ignites in each one who devoutly receives Him in this Sacrament!"(Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

There are literally millions of quotes, testimonies and inspiring stories to share regarding our faith in the Eucharist.  

Can you give a testimony of your faith in the Eucharist?

If you have a reason for your hope that has inspired you and others to grow in your faith and in the Eucharist, can you take a moment to share one below?  Whatever you share will be a gift of love for those reading them!

God love you and may you and your family greatly celebrate Corpus Christi not only on one day, but every day and at every Mass!

© Janet Moore 2015. All Rights Reserved. 

Photo Credit: Public Domain

The Powerful Witness of St. Justin Martyr

In the midst of such evil and terrorism, and knowing the great numbers of martyrdoms taking place throughout the world,  it is edifying for me to read about the bravery and the faith of the martyrs of the early Church. May the witness of Justin and the accounting of his words, help us grow in courage and strength and fear of the Lord. 

Justin Martyr, pray for us!  Help us to remain strong and steadfast in our faith even in the midst of persecution and death.  Lord have mercy on us!  Help us to grow in faith and be steadfast in hope, so that you will find faith on the earth when you return!

From the Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Justin and his companion saints
I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians

The saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood before the judgment seat, Rusticus the prefect said to Justin: “Above all, have faith in the gods and obey the emperors.” Justin said: “We cannot be accused or condemned for obeying the commands of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Rusticus said: “What system of teaching do you profess?” Justin said: “I have tried to learn about every system, but I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians, though these are not approved by those who are held fast by error.”

The prefect Rusticus said: “Are those doctrines approved by you, wretch that you are?” Justin said: “Yes, for I follow them with their correct teaching.”

The prefect Rusticus said: “What sort of teaching is that?” Justin said: “Worship the God of the Christians. We hold him to be from the beginning the one creator and maker of the whole creation, of things seen and things unseen. We worship also the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was foretold by the prophets as the future herald of salvation for the human race and the teacher of distinguished disciples. For myself, since I am a human being, I consider that what I say is insignificant in comparison with his infinite godhead. I acknowledge the existence of a prophetic power, for the one I have just spoken of as the Son of God was the subject of prophecy. I know that the prophets were inspired from above when they spoke of his coming among men.”

Rusticus said: “You are a Christian, then?” Justin said: “Yes, I am a Christian.” The prefect said to Justin: “You are called a learned man and think that you know what is true teaching. Listen: if you were scourged and beheaded, are you convinced that you would go up to heaven?” Justin said: “I hope that I shall enter God’s house if I suffer that way. For I know that God’s favor is stored up until the end of the whole world for all who have lived good lives.”

The prefect Rusticus said: “Do you have an idea that you will go up to heaven to receive some suitable rewards?” Justin said: “It is not an idea that I have; it is something I know well and hold to be most certain.”

The prefect Rusticus said: “Now let us come to the point at issue, which is necessary and urgent. Gather round then and with one accord offer sacrifice to the gods.” Justin said: “No one who is right thinking stoops from true worship to false worship.”

The prefect Rusticus said: “If you do not do as you are commanded you will be tortured without mercy.” Justin said: “We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so be saved. For this will bring us salvation and confidence as we stand before the more terrible and universal judgment-seat of our Lord and Savior.”

In the same way the other martyrs also said: “Do what you will. We are Christians; we do not offer sacrifice to idols.”

The prefect Rusticus pronounced sentence, saying: “Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the command of the emperor be scourged and led away to suffer capital punishment according to the ruling of the laws.” Glorifying God, the holy martyrs went out to the accustomed place. They were beheaded, and so fulfilled their witness of martyrdom in confessing their faith in their Savior.

RESPONSORY Acts 20:21, 24; Romans 1:16

I have preached faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and now I fear no danger.

— I do not count my life more precious than my work, which is to finish my course, the task of preaching and proclaiming the good news of God’s grace.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is God’s power at work, bringing salvation to all who believe in it, Jew first and then Greek.

— I do not count my life more precious than my work, which is to finish my course, the task of preaching and proclaiming the good news of God’s grace.

- See more at: http://divineoffice.org/0601-or/?title=Jun+01%2C+Office+of+Readings+for+St.+Justin%2C+M&date=20150601#sthash.a3sCfKm2.dpuf