Commemoration Justin, Martyr at Rome, d. ca. 165

Commemoration June 1

Justin, Martyr at Rome, d. ca. 165

Reflection

“Are you a Christian then?” “Yes, I am a Christian.” “Listen: if you were scourged and beheaded, are you convinced that you would go up to heaven?” “I hope that I shall enter God’s house . . . I know that God’s favor is stored up until the end of the whole world . . .” “If you do not do as you are commanded you will be tortured without mercy.” “We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so be saved.” With that, Justin, along with other Christians in Rome, was led off to be beheaded, glorifying God.

Justin, one of the first Christian “Apologists,” sought to present Christianity to the educated in a convincing manner, addressing both the Roman Emperor Antonius Pius and the Roman Senate, sometime after the year 135. In his second Apologia, he wrote, “No one believes in Socrates to the point of dying for what he taught. . . . but for the sake of Christ not only philosophers and scholars but even laborers and uneducated people have scorned fame, fear, and death.” He was scourged and beheaded because he refused to make pagan sacrifice. 

Prayer

God Almighty, Thank you for the witness of your servant, Justin, who engaged reason in promoting faith, even to the point of suffering death for his devotion to his true Lord, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.