Subj : March 15th - St. Leocritia To : All From : rich Date : Fri Mar 13 2020 09:46:45 From: rich March 15th - St. Leocritia, or Lucretia, Virgin and Martyr d. 859 St. Leocritia lived in Cordova when it was a Moorish city and when the conversion of a follower of Islam was punishable by death. Her parents were wealthy and influential Moslems, but she herself had been converted to Christianity by a relation called Litiosa, and had been baptized. At first she kept her religion secret, but as time went on she practised it more openly and admitted her faith to her parents. Angry and alarmed, they sought to make, her apostatize by entreaties, by threats and finally by blows and confinement. She managed to send word to St. Eulogius, asking if he could find her a refuge with his sister Anulona, and the messenger brought back a favourable answer. She now awaited an opportunity to escape. Her apparently passive attitude had led her parents to think she was about to comply with their wishes, and they accordingly gave her permission to attend a wedding; she contrived to slip away from the gathering and to rejoin her Christian friends. Her absence was soon discovered and a great hue and cry was raised, followed by the arrest and examination of any Christians suspected of having had communication with her. Leocritia was handed on from one Christian family to another, St. Eulogius visiting her from time to time to instruct her more fully and to strengthen her for the fate that awaited her. =C2 At length she was discovered, and both she and St. Eulogius were brought before the judge. When St. Eulogius was asked why he had concealed her, =E2=80=9CI have been entrusted with the office of a preacher= =E2=80=9D, he replied, =E2=80=9Cand it is my holy duty to enlighten all who seek the, light of the faith. To no seeker may I refuse to show the way of life. What I have done for her I would also have done for you, if you had asked me.=E2=80=9D They were both flogged and condemned to death, After St. Leocritia had been decapitated, her body was thrown into the Guadalquivir. It was afterwards deposited at Oviedo, beside that of St. Eulogius. A short account of St. Leocritia is given in the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol= ... ii. Saint Quote: God will not hear our prayers unless we acknowledge ourselves to be sinners. We do this when we ponder on our own sins alone, and not on those of our neighbor. -- Saint Moses the Ethiopian Bible Quote: "You see, anyone who keeps the whole of the Law but trips up on a single point, is still guilty of breaking it all. He who said, 'You must not commit adultery' said also, 'You must not kill.' Now if you commit murder, you need not commit adultery as well to become a breaker of the Law. Talk and behave like people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom. Whoever acts without mercy will be judged without mercy, but mercy can afford to laugh at judgment." [James 2:10-13] <><><><> Prayer: Moderate, O Jesus, my eagerness to know so much, and correct my negligence in doing so little for salvation, since Thou wilt not judge me according to what I have known, but by what I have done, or neglected to do, to obtain it. Can I apply my thoughts to know Thee thoroughly, and not admire and love Thee? And can I truly know myself, and not despise and hate myself? O life unknown! life hidden in Jesus Christ, in God! what an excellent means art thou of sanctification and salvation, yet how little art thou practiced amongst Christians! Grant, O Lord, that all may know, esteem, and love it, and be directed by it. Amen. --Thomas =C3 Kempis, From the Imitation of Christ --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .