Saint of the day June 18
Saint of the day June 18
St. Marina Roman Catholic Virgin- She flourished in Bithynia in the eighth century, and served God under the habit of a monk, with extraordinary fervor. Her wonderful humility, meekness, and patience are celebrated in the lives of the fathers of the desert. Feastday: June 18
Marina, distinguished as Marina the Monk and also known as Marina the Syrian, Marinos, Pelagia (this being the Greek equivalent of 'Marina'; see Pelagia) and Mary of Alexandria (Coptic: Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲛⲁ ⲛ̅ⲁⲥⲕⲏⲧⲏⲥ), was a Christian saint from part of Asian Byzantium, generally said to be present-day Lebanon.[9][10][11] Details of the saint's life vary.[a]
Marina probably lived in the 5th century, and the first biographical account was probably written sometime between 525 and 650; it is preserved in several manuscripts, including one from the tenth century.[12][13]
Legend
[edit]Marina (in some Western traditions, or Mary[12] or Mariam in other manuscript traditions) was the child of wealthy Christian parents and was born in Al-Qalamoun, near Tripoli, in present-day Lebanon.[2] Marina's mother died when they were very young, and so the child was raised as a devout Christian by her husband, Eugenius. As Marina approached marriageable age, Eugenius intended to find his child a husband and then retire to the Monastery of Qannoubine in the Kadisha Valley of Lebanon. Marina, upon learning of his plan, asked why he intended to save his own soul "and destroy mine." He responded, "What shall I do with you? You are a woman", and Marina answered that they would both live as monks together. Marina shaved her head, changed into men's clothes and took up the name Marinos. Eugenius, seeing his child's strong determination, gave all his possessions to the poor and travelled with Marinos to the Kadisha Valley to live in monastic community life, where they shared a cell. The other monks attributed Marinos' soft voice to long periods of prayer, or else believed their new brother was a male eunuch.[8][10][14][15]
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St. Aquilina, Roman Catholic Virgin and Martyr beheaded at Byblos. She was only twelve years old. Feastday: June 18
Martyr Aquilina of Byblos in Syria
The Holy Martyr Aquilina, a native of the Phoenician city of Byblos, suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Her parents raised her in Christian piety. When the girl was only twelve years old, she persuaded a pagan friend to convert to Christ. One of the servants of the imperial governor Volusian accused her of teaching others not to follow the religion of their fathers. The girl firmly confessed her faith in Christ before the governor and said that she would not renounce Him. Volusian tried to influence the young confessor through persuasion and by flattery, but seeing her confidence, he ordered her to be tortured.
They struck her upon the face, then they stripped her and beat her with whips. The torturer asked, “Where then is your God? Let Him come and take you out of my hands”.
The saint answered, “The Lord is here with me invisibly, and the more I suffer, the more strength and endurance will He give me.”
They drilled through the martyr’s ears with heated metal rods. The holy virgin fell down as if dead. The torturer thought that the girl had actually died, and he gave orders to throw her body outside the city to be eaten by dogs.
By night a holy angel appeared to Saint Aquilina, roused her and said, “Arise and be healed. Go and denounce Volusian, so that he and his plans may come to nothing.”
The martyr went to the court of the governor and stood before Volusian. Seeing Saint Aquilina, he called for his servants and ordered them to keep watch over her until morning.
In the morning he sentenced Saint Aquilina to death, saying that she was a sorceress who did not obey the imperial decrees. When they led the saint to execution, she prayed and gave thanks to God for allowing her to suffer for His Holy Name.
A voice was heard in answer to her prayer, summoning her to the heavenly Kingdom. Before the executioner could carry out the sentence, the martyr gave up her spirit to God (+ 293). The executioner feared to disobey the governor’s orders, so he cut off her head although she was already dead.
Christians piously buried the martyr’s body. Later, her relics were taken to Constantinople and placed in a church named for her.
ST. GREGORY BARBARIGO
https://www.jesuit.org.sg/june-edward-billotet-5-companions-sj/
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