CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND SHALL ALWAYS BE.
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THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY GREAT-MARTYR BARBARA AND JULIANA (Part III)
There lived nearby a Christian woman named Juliana who feared God and had seen the torturers lay hold of Saint Barbara. She watched from afar as Barbara was tortured, and after the Saint was taken to the prison, looked in at her through the dungeon window. When she saw that the Lord had healed Saint Barbara's wounds, she was herself filled with longing to suffer for Him. She began to prepare herself for the struggle, praying to Christ Jesus, the Judge of the contest, to grant her the strength to endure torture.
At daybreak, Barbara was brought out of the prison to suffer fresh tortures. Julian followed her at a distance. Barbara was led before the Governor, and he and the others present saw that the maiden had been healed. Her face was bright, and she was even more beautiful than before. Seeing that she bore no trace of her wounds, everyone was astonished, and the Governor exulted, "You see, maiden, how our gods care for you? Give thanks to the gods for their kindness they have shown you, and offer them sacrifice and worship!"
"Why do you say, O Governor, that your gods healed me?" asked the Saint. It was Jesus Christ, my Lord, and God, Who heals every infirmity and quickens the dead, that made me whole. It is Him that I thank and worship, and to Him, I offer myself as an oblation. But you are unworthy to behold Him, for your eyes are blind and your mind diseased with impiety."
The holy martyr's words moved the Governor to anger, and he commanded that she be suspended from a tree and her flesh raked with iron claws. Then he had her sides burned with candles. All these things Saint Barbara endure courageously. After this her head was beaten with a hammer, a torment scarcely to be endured even by the strongest men; nevertheless, the power of God preserved Christ's lamb as she suffered.
Among the people watching the Saint's passion stood Juliana, who could not restrain herself from weeping when she saw Barbara bravely endure torture. Filled with zeal, Juliana cried out amidst the crowd and began to revile the pagan gods and accuse the merciless Governor of inhuman cruelty. She was at once seized and asked what faith she professed. Since she confessed herself to be a Christian, the Governor commanded that she be put in torture with Barbara. Juliana was suspended alongside Barbara and scraped with iron hooks. Meanwhile, the Holy Great-Martyr Barbara lifted her eyes and prayed to the Almighty God: "Forsake me not, O Lord, but mercifully look down upon me and my fellow-sufferer Juliana. Strengthen us both and enable us to complete the present contest well, for "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew, Chapter 26).
As the Saint prayed, invisible succor descended from heaven upon the two martyrs, enabling them to endure their torture courageously. Then the persecutor ordered that their breasts be cut off, leaving them in the utmost pain. Again Barbara turned to her Physician and Healer, lifting her eyes and crying, "Cast us not away from Thy face, O Christ, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from us." Grant us, O Lord, the joy of salvation, and by Thy governing Spirit confirm us in Thy love!"
Dioscrorus, Saint Barbara's hardhearted father, not only felt no sorrow at the sight of his daughter's sufferings but gladly volunteered to be her executioner. Seizing Barbara with one hand and holding his bared sword with the other, he led her to the place of execution, a mountain outside the city. Behind them, a soldier led Saint Juliana. As they walked, Saint Barbara prayed to God, saying, "O Eternal God, Who has stretched out the heavens like a curtain and established the earth upon the waters, Whose sun shineth upon the good and evil alike, Who sendest down rain upon the just and the unjust, do Thou now hearken unto me Thy servant, who prayeth unto Thee! Hear me, O King, and bestow Thy grace upon all who remember me and my sufferings. Do not permit illness to befall them unexpectedly, and let not death overtake them unawares; for Thou knowest, O Lord, that we are but flesh and blood, the work of Thy Most pure hand."
As soon as the Saint had completed her prayer, a voice was heard from heaven summoning the martyrs and promising to fulfill Barbara's request. Saint Barbara and Saint Juliana hastened to their death with great joy, wishing to depart from the body quickly and go to their Lord. When they reached the appointed place, Christ's lamb Barbara bent her neck beneath the sword and was beheaded by her merciless father. The soldier beheaded Juliana there also, and the martyrs completed their contest together.
Divine punishment, however, quickly overtook Dioscorus and Governor Martianus. Thunder began to roar, and lightning struck Dioscorus while he was descending the mountain and Martianus as he was sitting at home. Their bodies were entirely consumed, leaving behind not even a trace of ash.
There lived in Heliopolis a pious man named Valentian who removed the precious bodies of the holy martyrs and returned them to the city. He buried them with fitting honor and built a church over them. Through the grace of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the prayers of the Saints, numerous healings were worked through the holy their holy relics. Unto the God Who is one in Trinity be glory forever. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George