September 22nd saint of the day is St. Phocas the Gardner. He is the patron of gardeners and mariners. "Phocas earned his living by cultivating a garden near the city gate of Sinope (now in Turkey). The quiet and beauty of the plot he cultivated proved quite conducive to his exercise of prayer in the course of his labors. He shared with the poor what he earned from his gardening, and opened his home to travelers lacking a place to stay. Phocas’ Christian identity became known to the pagan Roman authorities. Soldiers were dispatched to find and arrest him. Upon nearing Sinope, they stopped at Phocas’ door and received lodging from him, unaware that their host was the man they were charged to capture. At his table, they spoke openly of their mission before retiring for the night. As the soldiers slept, Phocas kept watch in prayer to prepare himself for martyrdom. The next morning, he revealed to them his identity. In a turn of events similar to the martyrdom of Saint Eudoxius (see September 5), the stunned soldiers were at first reluctant to carry out their orders against their kind host, but in the end they beheaded him." - catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5891 St. Phocas is a great example of hospitality. I love how even when he had a chance to escape or even kill his persecutors, he did not run away from his ultimate identity of being Christian. No, instead he stood strong and tall in his belief of Christ. He prayed hard so in order his human weakness would not overcome him to run away. When I read this, I totally had a wow moment. I pray I would not run from what God has called me to be and that is to be a daily representative of him and his message of love.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 22:10:00 +0000
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