🩸Saint Januarius, bishop of Benevento during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian, stood out for his courage and unwavering faith. Arrested for visiting Christians in prison, he was subjected to various tortures, including being thrown to hungry lions in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, from which he emerged unharmed as the beasts became tame at his feet. Condemned to decapitation, his martyrdom sealed his witness to Christ. The miracle of the liquefaction of his blood, which occurs annually in Naples when the ampoule containing his dried blood is brought near his head, is a perennial sign of his intercession and the vitality of the faith. This prodigy challenges science and strengthens the devotion of the faithful, recalling the words of today's Epistle: "My just man liveth by faith."
📖Introit (Ps 36:39, 1)Salus autem justórum a Dómino... The salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble. Ps. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity. ℣. Glory be to the Father.
✉️Epistle (Heb 10:32-38)
Brethren: Call to mind the former days, wherein, being illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions. And on the one hand indeed, by reproaches and tribulations, were made a gazingstock; and on the other, became companions of them that were used in such sort. For you both had compassion on them that were in bands, and took with joy the being stripped of your own goods, knowing that you have a better and a lasting substance. Do not therefore lose your confidence, which hath a great reward. For patience is necessary for you; that, doing the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little and a very little while, and he that is to come, will come, and will not delay. But my just man liveth by faith.
🕊️Gospel (Mt 24:3-13)
At that time: When Jesus was sitting on mount Olivet, the disciples came to him privately, saying: Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world? And Jesus answering, said to them: Take heed that no man seduce you: For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ: and they will seduce many. And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places: Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be scandalized: and shall betray one another: and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall seduce many. And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.
🙏Reflections
✝️Perseverance, the crowning virtue of the martyrs, is not a purely human merit but a divine gift that sustains faith in trials. He who perseveres to the end will be saved, not by his own strength, but by the grace of Him who loved him first; for final perseverance is the continuance in good until the end of life, a special gift of God (Saint Augustine, On the Gift of Perseverance). This life of faith, mentioned in the Epistle, is what makes the just man pleasing to God; faith is the foundation of hope and the principle of salvation, without which it is impossible to please God (Saint Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews). Patience, therefore, becomes the guardian of faith; for when tribulation comes to shake faith, if patience is not present to strengthen it, faith will perish (Saint Gregory the Great, Morals on the Book of Job).
🧐While Matthew focuses on the disciples' question about the "sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world," Mark (Mk 13:4) presents the question more narrowly related to the Temple: "when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall begin to be fulfilled?". Luke (Lk 21:8-19) adds a crucial detail about the persecution: "you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren, and kinsmen and friends," intensifying the drama of mutual betrayal. Furthermore, Luke offers a consoling promise not explicit in this passage of Matthew: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay."
📜Saint Paul delves deeper into the theme of perseverance amidst suffering, not as a burden, but as a union with Christ. In his Second Letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 4:8-10), he describes the life of the apostle: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies." This passage complements the Gospel by showing the theological purpose of suffering: the manifestation of Christ's life in the believer, a central concept for martyrdom.
🏛️The Council of Trent, in its Decree on Justification, reinforces the need for perseverance mentioned in the Gospel, connecting it to cooperation with divine grace. It states that the justified must "work out their salvation with fear and trembling, in labours, in watchings, in almsdeeds, in prayers and oblations, in fastings and chastity" (Session VI, Chapter 13). The Council warns that, although justified, they should not consider themselves exempt from the spiritual battle or certain of their salvation without continuous perseverance, for, as the Apostle says, "he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor 10:12).
🧐See English version of the critical articles here.