Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/46

84 ST. MARTHA St. Martha (/>), Jan. 19, 20, + 270 or 800. Wife of Maris or Marius, a nobleman of Persia. They sold their possessions, gave all to the poor, and with their sons, Audifax and Abacum, travelled to Borne, where they devoutly assisted the persecuted Christians and buried those who were put to death, until they were apprehended by Mari- anus, under the emperor Aurelian. Maris and his sons were tortured in various ways, Martha being compelled to stand by and see them ; they were then beheaded, and she dipped her finger in the blood and made the sign of the cross on her forehead. She was finally taken to Santa Ninfa, the sacred pools, thirteen miles from Eome, and there drowned. The date and the name of the reigning emperor are matters of dispute, but the story is accepted as true. B.M. Villegas. Baillot. Butler. Martin. Canisius. SS. Martha (0) and Mary, Feb. 8, W. MM. They wore sisters. La- hcrins, in his Menologio Virginum, says they lived and died in Asia, but Bol- landus declares the date and place of their death to be unknown. As the pre- fect of the province was x>a8sing through the place where they lived, they looked out of the windows and cried out that they were Christians ; he pitied their youth and would have let tbom retract their words and escape death, but they said martyrdom was not death, but the beginning of an endless life. A boy of the name of Lycarion or Bycarion, their pupil, was martyred with them. They were all three hung upon crosses and pierced with swords. AA.SS, SS. Martha (7) and Mary, June 6, VV. MM. Honoured in the Greek Church with three companions, VV. MM., not known where or when. AA.SS, St. Martha (8). (See Thkcla (16).) St. Martha (9), Sep. 20, is com- memorated with Susanna (18). B.M. St. Martha (10), May 1, 22. V. of Auxerre, end of 4th century. Wife of St. Amator of Auxerre. Both were of high rank and great wealth. On their wedding-day their room was splendidly decked for them with silk and gold, ivory and precious stones ; the bride's dress was magnificent; a largo gathering of friends assembled for the festive oc- casion. St. Valerian (May 6), the aged bishop of Auxerre, having been invited, according to the custom of the time, to bless the house of the newly united pair, instead of the marriage blessing read by mistake the prayers for the dedication of a priest. As no one present understood Latin except Amator and Martha, the mistake 2)assed unremarked. When the young couple were alone, Amator said to his bride, " Did you understand what the bishop read while we knelt before him ?" "I did," answered Martha, ** and I was afraid it would now be sinful to lead the worldly life we contemplated." From that time, they considered them- selves set apart for the service of God. They were encouraged in their resolu- tion by an angel who appeared to them. The venerable Valerian was soon suc- ceeded by St. Eladius, to whom Amator and Martha went for advice and instruc- tion. He ordained Amator a priest and gave the sacred veil to Martha. On the death of Eladius, Amator succeeded to the bishopric, and on his death, in 418, he begged to bo succeeded by St. Germain. Martha died some years before her hus- band and was buried by him. These four bishops of Auxerre are universally considered saints, and Martha is so called by Saussaye, Arturus and others, although her worship is not authorised. AA.SS., Prseier, St. Martha (ii) with Saula B.M.y perhaps oth century. St. Martha (12), Sept. l (Matana, Martiiana), -f- C' 428. Mother of St. Simeon Stylites the Elder or St. Simeon in Mandra. He was born at Sisan on the borders of Cilicia and Syria, in 388. When he was about sixteen, he disappeared from his home and his parents did not know what had become of him, until his extreme asceticism and his repute for miraculous powers at- tracted so much attention even in distant countries that his mother discovered his whereabouts. Meantime he had been sent away from one monastery on account of his excessive austerities and had lived some time in another monastery, an ex- ample of humility and devotion. At