Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?March_14th_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Maximilian?= To : All From : rich Date : Wed Mar 13 2019 09:16:22 From: rich March 14th =E2=80=93 St. Maximilian d. 295 We have an early, precious, almost unembellished account of the martyrdom of St. Maximilian in modern-day Algeria.=C2 Brought before the proconsul Dion, Maximilian refused enlistment in the Roman army saying, "I cannot serve, I cannot do evil. I am a Christian." Dion replied: "You must serve or die." =C2 Maximilian: "I will never serve. You can cut off my head, but I will not be a soldier of this world, for I am a soldier of Christ. My army is the army of God, and I cannot fight for this world. I tell you I am a Christian. " Dion: "There are Christian soldiers serving our rulers Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius and Galerius." Maximilian: "That is their business. I also am a Christian, and I cannot serve." Dion: "But what harm do soldiers do?" Maximilian: "You know well enough." =C2 Dion: "If you will not do your service I shall condemn you to death for contempt of the army." Maximilian: "I shall not die. If I go from this earth my soul will live with Christ my Lord." Maximilian was 21 years old when he gladly offered his life to God. His father went home from the execution site joyful, thanking God that he had been able to offer heaven such a gift. Comment: Rome's draft board made no provision for conscientious objectors. Maximilian, wise beyond his years, looked beyond his conquering nation's pride and saw the horror war inflicted on innocent people.= He chose death rather than take an active part in it. Compulsory military service presents few problems to us, but national pride does. Like this martyr, we need to take a hard look at how well our country's policies serve the rest of the world and act accordingly. Bible Quote And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face; 18. That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.=C2 (Matthew 6:16-18) <><><><> St. Alphonsus de Liguori, from "Preparation for Death" "The time of death is a time of storm and confusion. At that awful hour sinners call on God for assistance; but they invoke his aid through the fear of hell, which they see at hand, and not with true contrition of heart. It is for this reason that God is deaf to their cry ; "When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you:... Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear. ... Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way."[Prov 1:27-32] "it is for this reason also that they will then taste the fruit of their wicked life. What they have sown they shall reap. [Gal 8:8] "Ah! it will not then be enough to receive the sacraments; it is necessary at death to hate sin, and to love God above all things. But how can he, then, hate forbidden pleasures, who has loved them till that moment? How can he love God above all things, who has till then loved creatures more than he has loved God?" Pass it on, you never know who may be moved by God through it. Ave Maria and onward --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .