Subj : June 4th - St. Quirinus To : All From : rich Date : Mon Jun 03 2019 08:45:16 From: rich June 4th - St. Quirinus (Died 308 A.D.) We honor the martyrs as truly heroes; but the harrowing circumstances in which they die do not often enable us to read their minds at the moment of death. Luckily, in some cases the trial records have been preserved =E2=80=93 even from ancient Roman days. Thus, the records of the trial of St. Quirinus, Martyr, permit us to size up this outstanding hero of the last great Roman persecution. Diocletian was emperor of Rome in the first decade of the fourth century. Many of his predecessors had struck at the Christians, but not systematically. Diocletian was a bureaucrat, so he launched a full-fledged war on the followers of Christ, intending it to be a =E2=80=9Cfinal solution=E2=80=9D. To this end he issued several edicts, beg= inning in 303.=C2 The second edict ordered that all Christian clergy be jailed until they consented to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. Quirinus, an old man, was bishop of the present Sisak in northern Yugoslavia. When he heard that orders had been issued for his arrest, he tried to escape. The constabulary caught up with him, however, and haled him before Maximus, the local magistrate. The first thing that Maximus asked was why the bishop had taken flight. Quirinus replied that he was simply obeying Jesus, the true God, who had instructed his followers not to seek martyrdom: =E2=80=9CWhen they persecute you in one town, fly to the next.=E2=80=9D (Matt. 10:23) Well, said the magistrate, the emperor would have caught you anyhow; and now that you are a captive, your God cannot help you. Quirinus disagreed. =E2=80=9CGod is always with us and can help us. He was with me when I was taken and He is with me now. He it is who strengthens me and speaks through my lips.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CYou talk a great deal,=E2=80=9D Maximus grunted. =E2=80=9CLet=E2= =80=99s get to the point,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CThe emperor has ordered you to sacrifice to the gods. Do so!= =E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CI cannot,=E2=80=9D said the bishop: =E2=80=9CIt would be a sacrile= ge. The gods whom you serve are nothing. My God, whom I serve, is in heaven and earth, and in the seas and everywhere; but He is higher than all because He contains all things in Himself; all things were created by Him, and by Him alone do they subsist.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CYou must be in your second childhood to believe such fables,=E2=80= =9D said the judge to the old prelate. =E2=80=9CSacrifice and you shall be rewarded; refuse and you will be tortured and put to a horrible death.=E2=80=9D Quirinus rejoined that torture would be to him more a glory than a grief. So Maximus had him beaten. Even as the torturers were plying their whips, they kept promising him a position as a priest of Jupiter if he complied. Quirinus countered: =E2=80=9CI am exercising my priesthood here and now by offering myself up to God.=E2=80=9D He would gladly bear even more torture,= he said, so as to encourage other Christians to take this =E2=80=9Cshort road = to eternal life.=E2=80=9D Maximus did not have the authority to impose the death sentence, so he sent his aged prisoner on a long journey to Governor Amantius, who lived in what is now Hungary. When the bishop was brought before the governor, Amantius had the clerks send the record of the earlier trial. =E2=80=9CIs this account correct?=E2=80=9D he asked Quirinus. The prisoner said that it was: =E2=80= =9CI have confessed the true God at Siscia, I have never worshipped any other. Him I carry in my heart and no man shall succeed in separating me from Him.=E2=80=9D Because of the bishop's age, Amantius, not an unkindly man, was unwilling to torture him further. He simply ordered death by drowning. St. Quirinus was thrown into the river Raab with a stone around his neck. The bishop did not sink at once; but those who watched him swept downstream heard him still praying and crying encouragement to his followers. Like other martyrs, Quirinus had not sought martyrdom. Once condemned, however, he had depended on Christ's promise that =E2=80=9Cthe Holy= Spirit will teach you at that moment all that should be said.=E2=80=9D (Lk. 12:11-12). The Holy Spirit did not fail the old bishop. Nor will He ever fail us, if we trust in Him. =E2=80=93Father Bob Saint Quote: If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of= compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their f= ellow men. -- Saint Francis of Assisi Bible Quote: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children = of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor = of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-= 13) <><><><> O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, thy love for God and Charity for His creatures, madest thee worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore thee to obtain for me (request). O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, Who didst love to be folded in thine arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be thine. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .