First: allow me to confess that today’s reflection is mostly relating stories of some martyrs, which I
do not know by heart but was obliged to look up; it won’t be much about today’s Gospel.
Second: so far, I cannot recall any instance where our Lord has told us to worry about anything
whatsoever, except to fear the One who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Do not worry is
generally what He teaches; do not fear. Peace be with you, except only the times he chastised religious hypocrites as a brood of vipers, or admitted that it would have been better for his betrayer had he not been born. Today’s passage is pretty well known, telling those who would be persecuted not to worry what they would say when arraigned before magistrates, it’s appropriate for us to hear it on this day when we remember and celebrate of some martyrs — most famously St. Eustratius, but not the wonderworker of the ninth century from Tyre, who settled at Abgar Monastery on Mt. Olympos in Asia Minor, who is celebrated in January, but rather the third or early fourth century martyrs, called the Five Companions, who suffered in Sebaste in Armenia, during the time of the emperor Diocletian.
Third: Let us start with St. Auxentius — not just any Auxentius, but a presbyter from the Arabian
Church and among the first of the Christians imprisoned and undergoing torture in those days.
St. Eustratius, a noble military commander and the sity prefect of Satalios, and archivist of the
province, was secretly a Christian. Seeing the steadfastness of the Christians, he openly confessed his faith and so got a beating and had to wear iron sandals studded with sharp nails to poke his feet while he was forced to march over to the city of Arabrak.
In Arabak, another secret Christian, the commoner St. Mardarius, saw St. Eustratius arriving, and
so also confessed to being a Christian. He was put into prison where they passed ropes through the holes they drilled through his ankles, suspended him upside down and hammered hot nails into his body. As you might expect, he expired a short time later. He is is the very same St. Mardarius whose prayer we recite in the Divine Office, when we pray the Third Hour; it’s near the end of the service and begins, “O Master Lord God, Father Almighty...” and so on.
Of St. Eugene, they cut off his tongue, hands, and feet and then beheaded him with a sword. The
St. Auxentius we mentioned first, was also beheaded.
Another secret Christian who declared himself one was a young soldier, St. Orestes, who got
scared as he approached the red-hot iron bed prepared for him, till St. Eustratius encouraged him, at which he made the Sign of the Cross, got onto the heated bed, and surrendered his soul to God.
The last of these Five Companions, St. Eustratius, as he was being led off to get burned alive on
December the 13th, prayed aloud a prayer we still find in the Midnight Office for Saturdays, which begins,
“I magnify You exceedingly, O Lord, for You have regarded my lowliness....”
Fourth: In the accounts of these Five Companions, it doesn’t say whether they had a chance to
speak with the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, as we might hope from today’s Gospel. Not every martyr has a chance to witness to the Lord during martyrdom. I suppose we all may have favorites among the saints of the icons in our church, and I admit to being partial to the three Sisters among the 25 Martyrs of Ukraine in the 20th Century. I know for sure at least one of them was martyred unexpectedly, and so couldn’t witness to her persecutors under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
That’s alright: we should be prepared to be unprepared anyway, just in case, so Holy Spirit can use us if He pleases to. St. Tarsikya Matskiv was a Sister of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, sewing clothing for the sisters and teaching others the skill. She had been professed for just under four years when, about 8 in the morning on July 17th , 1944, the convent door’s bell rang. She was expecting a priest who was to celebrate for them the Divine Liturgy, but when she answered the door, it was a soldier, and he shot her dead without warning. Asked why, the
soldier had no reply; later it was claimed that said it was because she was a nun. The 25 are now
officially Blessed, beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 27th, 2001.
Finally: God writes straight, with crooked lines. We’re to be prepared to speak without prepara-
tion when facing martyrdom, keeping faith even should we be deprived of the opportunity to do so.
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