History
St. Pantaleon was a famous Christian doctor, but because he was surrounded by people who did not believe in Jesus, he eventually gave up his faith. A holy priest talked to him, and Pantaleon returned to the Church. Unfortunately, that meant he was arrested and sentenced to die if he would not renounce Jesus. Pantaleon refused to make the same mistake twice and proclaimed Jesus. Soldiers tried to burn him with torches, but a holy vision appeared, healing Pantaleon and putting out the flames. Next, the soldiers tried to throw him into a tub of boiling lead, but the fire under the pot went out and the lead immediately became cold and solid. Pantaleon was then tied to a huge stone and thrown into the sea, but the stone floated. The soliders then imprisoned Pantaleon with wild animals that were supposed to tear him limb from limb, but the animals acted just like gentle pets. Then he was tied to a large wheel to be beaten, but the ropes snapped and the wheel shattered. Finally, one of the soldiers was told to cut off his head, but the sword bent. All the soldiers became Christians, too!
Activity
It’s hard to imagine having as much faith as Saint Pantaleon did when he was being persecuted. Today, the kind of persecution we face as Christians is a lot less scary. We might get made fun of or insulted, but we probably won’t be tied to a big rock and thrown into the sea. Still, it can be hard to stand up for Jesus when people are being mean to us. Pray that God will give you and your whole family the strength to withstand persecution.
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