My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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THE FEAST OF THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS MARTYR SAINT KATHERINE (Part III)
At this juncture, the emperor ordered that the Martyr be placed under heavy guard. He then sent out a notice to all cities under his rule, announcing: "I, your emperor, extend my greeting to all the learned men and rhetoricians of the Greeks...together with your knowledge, may stop the mouth of a very clever woman who has appeared of late and has treated scornfully the exalted gods...Thus, if you prove the ancients' wisdom and impress the populace, from me you will receive great recompense."
One hundred and fifty elite and scholarly men, who had keen minds and were seasoned orators, responded and assembled...Consequently, the martyr was commanded to be brought in. Many by then, had filled the amphitheater to see and hear the outcome. Before they commenced, the Archangel Michael appeared to Katherine, encouraging her, and saying, "O child of the Lord, be not afraid; for the Lord will add more wisdom to thine own, to vanquish the one hundred and fifty philosophers' and not only they, but many others also will come to believe through thy testimony and will receive martyr's crowns."
After a robust debate and discourse, the one hundred and fifty pagan scholars and philosophers were defeated by Saint Katherine. The emperor, seeing that his pagan philosophers lost the battle, directed the others to refute the martyr in rebuttal. They declined, saying, "We cannot oppose the truth, in view of the fact that our superior has been defeated.
Then the emperor's anger was inflamed, and he ordered that a fire be kindled in the midst of the city and the orators be cast therein. As they heard this, they fell at the feet of the Saint, begging that the Lord might forgive them-for they had sinned unwittingly-and that they be allowed to receive Baptism and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The Saint was elated and addressed them, "You are blessed and fortunate, for you have left darkness and come to the Light of the Truth...Behold, the fire with which the impious ones are menacing you shall become your baptism and a celestial ladder to the King Who is making you His beloved friends!" With these words, the holy Katherine encouraged them, sealing them to their martyrdom in thanksgiving and rejoicing. The soldiers cast them into the flames, jubilant as they were, on the 17th of November...
"...The emperor ordered that she be stripped of the royal mantle and lashed without pity with whips of rawhide. After this, they scourged her about the stomach and back for two hours. Her virginal body, once fair, became lacerated and unsightly from the welts. Yet, the holy one withstood all this with much courage. After the sunset, the savage beast ordered that she be cast into prison and not be given food or water for twelve days until he might devise a method to put her to death...
"...A certain prefect, ill-tempered and sadistic man proposed to the emperor a new instrument of torture that would bring about the atrocious death of the martyr. He said to the emperor, 'Thou should order the construction of four wooden wheels attached to an axle, from which steel blades and other sharp spikes protrude. Two of the wheels will rotate to the right, and two to the left. The maiden would be placed below, bound, at the center, so that when the wheels turn, her body will be completely mutilated. The idea pleased the emperor, and he ordered the plan put into effect.
The emperor then ordered that they cast the Saint, bound, before the wheels and rotate them violently so that with rapid passes thereof she might suffer a bitter death. But, by the intervention of the grace and will of God, it did not come to pass in this way. An Angel of the Lord came down from heaven and aided the holy Katherine, who was instantly loosed from the bonds and rendered whole and uninjured. The wheels spun away on their own, striking many of the unbelievers, and bringing upon them a hideous death...The emperor raged with a blind fury, and at once sought to devise a new way to torture Saint Katherine.
The emperor finally to behead the Saint...After uttering her final prayer to the Lord, she told the executioner to carry out the sentence. He raised his sword and cut off her precious head on the 25th of November, in about 305 A.D. Again, our God desired to honor the Saint and Venerable Martyr, and one miracle followed another! At her beheading all the bystanders witnessed milk flow from her sacred head instead of blood. Thereupon, at that hour, her revered and precious holy relics were devoutly translated by holy Angels and deposited on Mount Sinai in a secret place. According to Holy Tradition, they were translated to the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai, which now bears her name.
Verily, this is the account of the Martyrdom of the all-wise and remarkable Katherine, who so loved Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, that she disdained wealth, glory, and every vain enjoyment. Therefore, she now rejoices and delights with the Choir of Saints unto endless ages. (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)
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On the 25th of November, the holy Church commemorates the holy Great-Martyr Mercurius.
When the Roman pagan emperor Decius was once making war on the barbarians, there was in the army the commander of an Armenian regiment called the Martesians. The commander was called Mercurius. In the battle, an Angel of God appeared to Mercurius, put a sword in his hand, and told him that he would overcome the enemy. Mercurius displayed wonderful courage, mowing the enemy down like grass with his sword. After this glorious victory, the emperor made him Supreme Commander of his army, but some jealous men denounced him to the emperor as a Christian. Mercurius did not deny this before the emperor but openly acknowledged it. He was most terribly tortured: cut with knives in strips and burned in a furnace, but an Angel of God appeared in the prison and healed him. Finally, the emperor pronounced the sentence that General Mercurius be beheaded with the sword in Cappadocia. When they beheaded him, his body became as white as snow, and from it there arose a wonderful, incense-like fragrance. Many of the sick were healed by his wonderworking and holy relics. This glorious soldier of Christ suffered for the Faith sometime between 251 and 259 A.D. (Source: The Prologue from Ochrid)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George