Death to the World - The Last True Rebellion

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MARTYR=20 KATHERINE

    Late in=20 the third century there lived in Alexandria a girl whom none could = surpass in=20 beauty and intelligence. St. Katherine was born into a wealthy pagan = family and=20 received an excellent education. By the time she was 18 many young men = desired=20 to marry her, but St. Katherine refused them all, feeling they were not = good=20 enough for her. Not knowing what to do, her mother =E2=80=93 a secret = Christian =E2=80=93 turned=20 to her spiritual father for help. He immediately understood that the = wise girl's=20 heart would be won over by Jesus Christ. He told her that he knew of a = wondrous=20 Youth Who surpassed her by far in all her talents and gifts. By birth He = was=20 higher than any emperor or king; His wisdom was above understanding; His = wealth=20 was spread throughout the world, and His beauty outshone the very sun. = At once=20 St. Katherine wished to see this Youth. The monk brought out an icon of = the Holy=20 Virgin holding the Christ Child; he told St. Katherine to take it home = and pray=20 to the Mother of God.

    After praying fervently = that=20 night, St. Katherine fell asleep and dreamt that she was standing before = the=20 Virgin and Child. The Child's face was turned away from her. When His = mother=20 asked Him to look at the beautiful girl, He said He wouldn't until she = changed=20 her pagan ways and returned to the holy monk for guidance. Eagerly St. = Katherine=20 did so. The monk taught her about the One True God, the Creator of = Heaven and=20 Earth, and the Saviour of Mankind. St. Katherine soon believed in Jesus = Christ=20 with all her heart and was baptized.

    Once = again she=20 saw the Holy Virgin in a dream; this time the Christ Child was smiling = at her=20 with love and tenderness and said that He would now be 'the Bridegroom = of her=20 soul.' As a sign of His love and mercy, He placed a ring on the finger = of her=20 right hand. When St. Katherine awoke, she found the ring on her=20 finger!

    Soon after this, the Emperor Maximian = came to=20 Alexandria and arranged a huge pagan festival. Amidst the slaughter and = stench=20 of the burning sacrifices, St. Katherine in all her beauty and eloquence = denounced the pagan gods. She challenged the Emperor to invite his best=20 philosophers for a debate in which her living God and Lord Jesus Christ = would=20 triumph over his dead idolatry. The Emperor agreed. Fifty philosophers = gathered=20 for the debate, but not one could match the Saint's wisdom. Instead, St. = Katherine convinced them to believe in Christ. The enraged Emperor = ordered the=20 50 men to be burnt to death. As they went to their martyrdom, they = begged St.=20 Katherine to pray that the One True God would forgive their former = ignorance,=20 and she assured them of God's infinite mercy and love. When the fire = died down=20 their dead bodies were found unharmed by the flames. Many people were = converted=20 through this miracle.

    Disturbed by her growing = influence over his subjects, the Emperor offered St. Katherine wealth = and power=20 if she would sacrifice to his gods, but she was not interested. Then he = resorted=20 to threats and vicious floggings. All of this the Saint suffered without = a=20 murmur. She was then locked in a dungeon without food or=20 water.

   =20 Together with the head guard Porphyrius and 200 of his men, the = Emperor's wife=20 Augusta secretly visited St. Katherine. So taken were they by her = eloquent=20 wisdom and courage that she was able to win them over to Christ. Even = when the=20 Saint warned the Empress of her martyrdom in three days, the fear that = Augusta=20 first felt =E2=80=93 knowing only too well her husband's cruelty -- was = overcome by the=20 consolation of God's everlasting peace and love so freely given by the = young=20 woman.

    The next morning, when St. Katherine = was=20 brought before the Emperor, he was astounded by her radiant beauty. = Accusing his=20 guards of giving her food, he would have punished them had St. Katherine = not=20 stopped him by saying that it was Christ Who had taken care of His = faithful=20 servant. When the angry Emperor tried to frighten her with threats of=20 disfiguring her beauty, St. Katherine calmly replied that all human = beauty wilts=20 like a flower and soon fades like a = dream.

    Was=20 there nothing that could shake her faith in the One True God? It was no = dream=20 that a friend of the Emperor next suggested; it was a cruel, inhuman = torture. He=20 proposed that the saint be strapped down between four huge spiked wheels = =E2=80=93 two=20 would turn to the right and two to the left, slowly tearing her body to = shreds.=20 It took three days to build. When St. Katherine was shown the monstrous=20 construction, she turned to her tormentors and said: 'Why do you waste = your=20 time? I have told you, I believe in Christ.' She was immediately tied = down=20 between the wheels, but before they could be turned, an angel appeared = and freed=20 her bonds. The wheels shattered into bits, striking dead many = unbelievers who=20 were watching. Others, seeing this astonishing miracle, cried out: = 'Great is the=20 God of the Christians!'

    When the Emperor still = did not=20 stop in his madness, his wife stepped boldly forward: 'In truth, you are = arrogant and stupid to fight the Living God.' At these words the = Emperor's wrath=20 turned against Augusta and she was beheaded. That night Porphyrius and = his men=20 reverently buried her body. The next morning they confessed their faith = to the=20 Emperor and they too were beheaded.

    Crowds of = people=20 followed St. Katherine to the place of her execution weeping and = sorrowing that=20 she was to meet such an early and cruel death. However, the young saint = told=20 them they should rejoice for her because she was soon to see her beloved = Bridegroom and Saviour Jesus Christ. St. Katherine was given a moment to = pray=20 and then she was beheaded. From the wound, instead of blood, there = flowed=20 milk.

    St. Katherine's body disappeared. = According to=20 the report of a number of faithful people, it was taken by angels. Two = centuries=20 later some monks were guided by a dream and found her body on the = highest mount=20 in Sinai. Not far from there a monastery was dedicated to her, and there = her=20 relics are kept, tended by faithful monks to this day. Their sweet = fragrance=20 reminds us that Great Martyr Katherine, as a beautiful flower plucked = form the=20 earth, continues to bloom with unfading glory in God's everlasting=20 Kingdom.

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