#85 St. Pantaleon - Without the True Faith Man is Always Unhappy – The Difference between Souls Influenced by God or Satan
Ecstasy
date October 1, 1878
“I
am Saint Pantaleon cruelly put to death for the Faith, for defending
the rights of the Church. It is under those barbaric emperors I shed
my blood. I was tortured severely. I was sentenced to death after
suffering nine interrogations. I had always supported the right of
God, and I kept my faith. I received my sentence by the Emperor and
judges without fright and without fear. I had a kind of crucifixion
terrible with pain and suffering. I had my legs and knees pierced by
a sort of iron needle which had three branches. I suffered untold
pain, my bones were crushed. In the other part of my body, this is
what I had endured. My body was sawn into pieces with a iron saw
whose teeth were very long and very sharp. I had my head split in two
from the mouth. God gave me the grace to suffer a little less time
than many other martyrs who have suffered the same fate. They threw
my flesh to animals who refused to feed on it. They ordered to throw
me into the river but the Will of God stopped those men. I was
brought back (i.e. for burial) by colleagues who risked death in
doing so,
and I was buried in blessed ground because God saw to that.
Now,
a word on behalf of Our Lord.
Dear
Brothers of the Cross, we are all in this life, the heirs of the
glory of Heaven. That is why we must suffer in our souls and our
bodies. You who have faith, dear brothers in the Lord, you should be
happy! Because it is only in the Faith that makes the happiness of
man. Without this Faith, man is always unhappy. God chose you for His
instruments on earth. He needs you.
We
all know, dear brothers, that all the works of God are traversed
(i.e. crossed, as
in persecuted), on the
earth and exposed to the contradictions of men and the devil. But
for us there is something easy to notice, it is that the souls who
live for God and persevere in God ascend the degrees of patience and
resignation in all the contradictions. Only souls led by God truly
have such courage. The
soul under the influence of Satan weakens soon, grows bored and rests
as a mass of beaten dirt where it can neither hope, nor move, nor
live because it is in a torment of despair, the torment of hell. This
should reassure you. (i.e.,
these signs to
tell the difference in the movements of the soul and detecting what
comes from God should set us at peace.) It's also a reminder we must never get discouraged when carrying our crosses! In another vision we learn we displease Our Lord when we let our inner peace be disturbed! See post
#76 St. Abraham (of Kidunaia?) to learn more.)
#76 St. Abraham (of Kidunaia?) to learn more.)
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Notes:
St. Panteloen is venerated as one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers”.
Like several of the saints that visited Marie-Julie, St. Pantaleon
has offered a correct account of his death, and thereby confirmed the
assertion that many of the traditional details about his martyrdom are
inaccurate legends.
St.
Pantaleon, whose names means “the All-Compassionate”, was the
son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia, and had been instructed
in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula. Afterwards he became
estranged from Christianity. He studied medicine and became physician
to the Emperor Maximinianus. He was reconverted to the Faith by the
priest Hermolaus and afterwards continued to provide his skills as a physcian wihtout charge. Upon the death of his father he came into
possession of a large fortune. Envious colleagues denounced him to
the emperor during the Diocletian persecution. The emperor wished to
save him and tried to get him to renounce his faith, Pantaleon,
however, openly confessed his faith, and as proof that Christ is the
true God, he healed a paralytic. Notwithstanding this, the emperor
regarded the miracle as an exhibition of magic and condemned him.
According
to the death-legends now shown to be false, Pantaleon's flesh was first
burned with torches; upon this Christ appeared to all in the form of
Hermolaus to strengthen and heal Pantaleon. The torches were
extinguished. After this, when a bath of liquid lead was prepared,
Christ in the same form stepped into the cauldron with him, the fire
went out and the lead became cold. He was now thrown into the sea,
but the stone with which he was loaded floated. He was thrown to the
wild beasts but these fawned upon him and could not be forced away
until he had blessed them. He was bound on the wheel, but the ropes
snapped, and the wheel broke. An attempt was made to behead him, but
the sword bent, and the executioners were converted. Pantaleon
implored heaven to forgive them, for which reason he also received
the name “All Compassionate”. It was not until he himself desired
it that it was possible to behead him.
He
died in 305 AD, apparently at Nicomedia. Feast Day, July 27.
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