Martyr: The Life of Saint Sebastian

In Lasallian schools the core principle of concern for the poor and social justice invites students and staff to be in solidarity with the poor and advocate for those suffering injustices. This means that people should have awareness of the poor and those who are victims of injustices and respond to their needs by means of community service and advocacy. This core principle is illustrated in the novella, “Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr” by Miguel de Unamuno. The main character, Don Emmanuel is the parson of the city of Valverde. The congregation of this parish look up to Don Emmanuel, admire him, and are overtaken by his words in mass. However, the narrator reveals that Don Emmanuel was not a man of faith. “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, presents a story of a young man who one day wakes up and is transformed into a bug. As a result of this transformation, he is mistreated by his family and considered useless in society. In the case of Saint Emmanuel the Good Martyr, there is a character that does not believe in God, yet practices concern for the poor and social justice on a daily basis. On the other hand, we have a character that yearns what Don Emmanuel gives to the citizens in Valverde, care and concern.

When I was told to choose a saint to be my patron saint for Confirmation, I thought the choice was obvious for me. It took me just a few moments and one quick touch to my neck to remember my patron saint, Saint Sebastian. I have a medal that I wear every time I leave the house with a picture of Saint Sebastian that says “Saint Sebastian Pray For Us.” I was given this medal when I was very young.

Christianity was frowned upon by the Romans. The Roman Emperor wanted the people to worship him and the Roman Gods. Christians were blamed for many of the misfortunes that happened in Rome. Due to the belief that Christians were to blame they were ostracized, tortured and even killed.

I chose Saint Raphael the Archangel as my confirmation saint. I chose this saint because this is the first saint I learned about. I always looked upon this saint as my favorite saint because of his strong relationship with God and because I knew this saint the longest. I also chose this saint because his name means "God Heals." Saint Raphael the Archangel had an interesting life in faith and a strong relationship with God. Most people know this saint because he is one of the seven archangels and a part of the group of three archangels talked about in the Bible.

“‘You have no passion. You are not going to make it… I can say to you that the state championship is a month and a day away…”’ (Wojnarowski 227). This what Coach Bob Hurley said to his somewhat deflated St. Anthony Friars in The Miracle of St. Anthony. The Friars were undefeated at this point in the season but there seemed to be a lack of energy in the team with the New Jersey State Championship looming. Because of this, Hurley would give a speech that would bring the team back together for an undefeated championship season. I could relate to this because this summer my sailing team was in a similar situation with the Maine State Championship Regatta just a few weeks a away. My coach gave a very similar speech to Hurley’s which also brought our team together. As a result the team did very well in the state championship.

A way that Rome met the common good is to protect rights. Well, there are three classes in Rome: Patricians, Plebians, and slaves. Patricians were the rich and they made all of the laws and they had lots of rights but Patricians

Two of the more memorable emperors to the Romans were Augustus Caesar (27 BC to 14 AD), and Caligula (37 AD to 41 AD). Although only having ruled the empire by a separation of 23 years and belonging to the same family (through marriage and adoption), their empires couldn’t have been more different. It is possible to determine the impact of an emperor’s rule based on their many vices and virtues, as well as the choices that they make in relation to them. The author Suetonius expressed in his writings the many vices and virtues that put into perspective the kind of leaders that these emperors appeared as to their polis. As we explore the concept of vices and virtues, as well as what kind of ideals these two rulers represented, we will begin to be presented with a clearer picture of what an ideal emperor would have looked like. A vice can be described as an immoral or wicked behavior; while a virtue can be described as a behavior showing high moral standards. Suetonius and the Roman people had a high interpretation of the concept of virtue and vice, as well as their role in the ruler’s life.

During the time of Trajan’s ruling the Christians in Rome were persecuted. It is difficult to say if Trajan was positive or negative for the empire. He did good things and also terrible things. He fixed

However, the parents were converted to Christianity while visiting their sons by Saint Sebastian. Sebastian continued to convert Romans to Christianity while in the Roman Army until he was found out and reported to Emperor Diocletian in 286 AD. For his punishment, Diocletian ordered that Saint Sebastian be tied to a wooden stake and be used as target practice for Roman archers. The archers filled Saint Sebastian with arrows, his body would later be described as, “full of arrows as an urchin.” Thought to be dead the archers left him and sent for a person to retrieve his body.

Vibia Perpetua, a martyr of the 3rd century, was under a death sentence so young with the sole crime of being Christian. Aside from what she goes through, she is eager to encourage and inspire fellow Christians to stand firm under brutal interrogation, just as she did. (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html) Perpetua, a woman who willingly suffered death rather

The veneration of the saints has been a long standing tradition in the Catholic faith, one that is highly exalted. Saints, in the Catholic faith, are meant to be ideal role models for the practicing Catholic, so that every Catholic may be closer to God through the saints. Saints lived an extraordinary life as a human and lead an example for all Catholics to follow. While the canonization for sainthood is a long process, before the canonization process, martyrs were the saints that people looked up to. Martyrs had been physically harmed and killed for their faith.

One of the major reasons that the Roman Empire was so prosperous was because of the many great leaders that the empire was blessed with. Despite the stints of emperors whose tenures were riddled with incompetency and/or mediocrity, there were many leaders who carried Rome to greater heights and glory. The qualities of these men were all quite similar. The ideal Roman leader was charismatic and captured the hearts of his followers, and also logical and reasonable in both politics and warfare. He was valiant and put Rome ahead of himself, as well as honorable and just to those on his side as well as the other’s. He was clever and able to increase the financial and personal wellbeing of his peoples and his state as a whole, and possibly most

Constantine the Great, also known as Saint Constantine, was the Roman Emperor from 306 to 337, right after Diocletian. As the first Roman emperor to call himself a Christian, his actions greatly affected both the history of the Christian Church and the history of the world. However, the question is, were his efforts about benefitting the church or about benefitting himself? It is said that because of his edicts and leadership, he was able to move the church as well as himself into positions of power. In addition, it was his advocacy for the church that put an end to imperial persecutions. This made Constantine not only highly important in world history but in church history as well. Many still argue about the significance of his efforts, but there is enduring gratitude in the collective memory of Christians for the Edict of Milan. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 during a time when persecution gave way to religious tolerance. By the end of the century, Christianity became an official credo and the emperor would enforce its doctrines. This paper will attempt to make a fair and critical study of Constantine in his relation to Christianity.

Power is a natural desire for humans. It is what structures society, makes the world turn, and to get more of it, people will do almost anything. Yet society often follows whoever is in power without a second thought. Because the Romans follow whoever is in power without considering that person’s morals and ideals, they are responsible for the anarchy that ensues after Caesar’s death.

The Passion of St. Perpetua and Felicitas, as translated by H.R. Musurillo is the narrative of St. Perpetua’s martyrdom. During the period of time in which St. Perpetua was victimized in order to oppress her faith, medieval vita’s were of great use to coax people to follow Christianity. This first hand account of her own persecution follows Perpetua’s story from the time of her arrest, right up to her death. St. Perpetua herself used biblical symbols, and paradoxical phrases to set the tone of her account, to illustrate the righteousness of her martyrdom to her fellow Christians, and to prove that all of “God’s people will be preserved”, and therefore deserves more exploration.