18 JULY – SAINT SYMPHOROSA AND HER SEVEN SONS (Martyrs)

After the dedication of the palace of Hadrian at Tibur (Tivoli), Hadrian was told that the gods were tormented by the prayers of Symphorosa (the widow of Getulius the martyr) and her seven sons Crescens, Julian, Nemesius, Primitivus, Justinus, Stacteus and Eugenius. Hadrian had them arrested and when they refused to sacrifice to the gods, he ordered them to be taken to the temple of Hercules and be executed there. Symphorosa, because of her invincible constancy, was first buffeted a long time, then suspended by her hair, and lastly thrown into the river with a stone tied to her body, which was afterwards recovered by her brother Eugenius. The seven sons were attached to stakes, Crescens had his throat cut, Julian was pierced in the breast, Nemesius was stabbed to the heart, Primitivus was run through the belly, Justin was transfixed with a sword through his back, Stracteus was struck in the side, and Eugenius was cleft downwards. Their bodies were subsequently taken to Rome and were found in the sacristy of the Church of Sant’Angelo in Piscina under Pope Pius IV.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

For the second time in July a constellation of seven stars shines in the heavens. More fortunate than Felicitas, Symphorosa preceded in the arena the Seven Sons she was offering to God. From the throne where he was already reigning crowned with the martyr’s diadem, Getulius the tribune, father of this illustrious family, applauded the combat by which his race earned a far greater nobility than that of patrician blood, and gave to Rome a grander glory than was ever dreamed of by her heroes and poets. The Emperor Adrian, corrupt yet brilliant, sceptical yet superstitious like the society around him, presided in person at the defeat of his gods. Threatening to burn the valiant woman in sacrifice to the idols, he received this courageous answer: “Your gods cannot receive me in sacrifice, but if you burn me and my sons for the name of Christ my God, I will cause your demons to burn with more cruel flames!” The execution of the mother and her sons was indeed the signal for a period of peace during which the Kingdom of our Lord was considerably extended. Jerusalem, having under the leadership of a last false Messiah revolted against Rome, was punished by being deprived of her very name, but the Church received the glory which the Synagogue once possessed, when she produced the mother of the Machabees.

Another glory was reserved for this 18th day of July in 1870: the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, presided over by the immortal Pius IX, defined in its Constitution, Pastor Aeternus, the full, supreme and immediate power of the Roman Pontiff over all the Churches, and pronounced anathema against all who should refuse to recognise the personal infallibility of the same Roman Pontiff speaking ex cathedra, i.e., defining, as universal Pastor, any doctrine concerning faith or morals. We may also remark that during these same days, viz., on Sunday in the middle of July, the Greeks make a commemoration of the first six general councils, Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon and second and third of Constantinople. Thus, during these midsummer days, we are in the midst of feasts of heavenly light. And let us not forget that it is martyrdom, the supreme act of faith, that merits and produces light. Doubtless, Divine Wisdom, who plays in the world with number, weight and measure, planned the beautiful coincidence which unites together these two days, the 18th July, 136, and that of the year of 1870. If in these latter days the word of God has been set free, it is owing to the blood shed by our fathers in its defence.

O Symphorosa, wife, sister and mother of martyrs, your desires are amply fulfilled. Followed by your seven children, you rejoin in the court of the Eternal King your husband Getulius and his brother Amantius, brave combatants in the imperial army, but far more valiant soldiers of Christ. The words of our Lord, “A man’s enemies will be they of his own household” (Matthew x. 36) are abrogated in Heaven. Nor can this other sentence be there applied: “He that loves father and mother more than me, is not worthy of me. He that loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew x. 37). There, the love of Christ our King predominates over all other loves. Yet far from extinguishing them, it makes them ten times stronger by putting its own energy into them. And, far from having to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother (Matthew x. 35), it sets a divine seal upon the family and rivets its bonds for all eternity.

What nobility, O heroes, have you conferred on the world! Men may look up with more confidence towards Heaven, for the Angels will not despise a race that can produce such valiant combatants. The perfume of your holocaust accompanied your souls to the throne of God, and an effusion of grace was poured down in return. From the luminous track left by your martyrdom have sprung forth new splendours in our own days. With joyful gratitude we hail the providential reappearance, immediately after the Vatican Council, of the tomb which first received your sacred relics on the morrow of your triumph. Soldiers of Christ, preserve in us the gifts you have bestowed on us. Convince the many Christians who have forgotten it that faith is the most precious possession of the just.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Carthage, St. Gundenes, virgin. By order of the proconsul Rufinus, she was four different times stretched on the rack for the faith of Christ, horribly lacerated with iron hooks, confined for a long time in a filthy dungeon, and finally put to the sword.

At Dorostorum, in Mysia, in the time of Julian the Apostate and the governor Capitolinus, St. Æmilian, martyr, who was cast into a furnace and thus received the palm of martyrdom.

At Utrecht, St. Frederick, bishop and martyr.

In Spanish Galicia, St. Marina, virgin and martyr.

At Milan, in the reign of Maximian, the holy bishop Maternus. For the faith of Christ and the church entrusted to him, he was thrown into prison and often scourged. Finally he went to his rest in the Lord with a great renown for his repeated confession of the faith.

At Brescia, the birthday of St. Philastrius, bishop of that city, who in speech and writing combated heretics, especially the Arians, from whom he suffered much. Finally, he died in peace, renowned for miracles.

At Metz in France, St. Arnulf, a bishop illustrious for holiness and the gift of miracles. He chose a heremitical life and ended his blessed career in peace.

At Segni, St. Bruno, bishop and confessor.

At Forlimpopoli in Æmilia, St. Ruffillus, bishop of that city.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.