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| "The Martyrdom of Saint Januariusin the Amphitheatre at Pozzuoli"by Artemisia Gentileschi |
History
Saint Januarius (San Gennaro in
Italian) lived more than 1700 years ago. We don’t know much about him, other
than it was hard to be a Christian in Italy back in those days because the
emperor, Diocletion, was attacking anybody who believed in Christ. Januarius
was a bishop, and he went to visit four men who had been put in prison because
they were Christians. He was arrested, also, along with two helpers who were
with him. All eight men were thrown to wild beasts, but the animals did not
attack them. So, the soldiers killed them. Somebody kept a vial of Januarius’
blood as a relic. It dried up a long time ago, but every year on September 19
(and a couple other days) , it turns to liquid again. Scientists
have tried to explain it, but nobody can.
Activity
People still crowd into the
cathedral in Naples every year on September 19 for a glimpse of the liquefied blood.
(You can watch a 1:29 video of last year’s event here.) But we must remember
that the Lord does a miracle for us at every Mass, when He turns the gifts of
bread and wine into His own Body and Blood. It’s not a miracle we see with our
eyes – it’s one that other people see in our lives as we are transformed by His
grace every time we receive the Eucharist. Today, pray that God will enable
people to see His grace in you every day of your life.
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