Nereus, Achilleus, and Pancras: Choosing Our Path
Today we commemorate the early martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, eunuchs and chamberlains of the court, and eventual converts to Christianity, who were put to death under Emperor Domitian in the late first century, about the time of the death of Saint John the Apostle. (Saint Paul mentions a ‘Nereus’ in Romans 16:15), and buried in the catacombs of Domitilla. (Other sources, however, claim they were martyrs under Diocletian in the third century). Whoever they may have been, a great devotion built up around them. Saint Philip Neri, founder of the Oratory named after him in the sixteenth century, certainly adopted them as his patrons, and would hold processions in their honour every year, begging their intercession. We should as well, if not the processions, at least the intercession.
We also celebrate their fellow soldier-convert-saint-and-martyr Pancras, one of the most popular saints, after whom many places are named – think of the principal train terminal in London, England. He converted to Christianity along with his parents, and in the persecution of aforementioned Diocletian was brought, at the age of fourteen, before the emperor himself. Diocletian was was so impressed with the young lad’s determination in the face of imminent death for his Faith, that the emperor promised him wealth, riches and honour if he would apostatize – but Pancras refused, seeing a far greater reward in heaven. And thither he went, decapitated, one of those commemorated in the Office of Readings from the final chapters of the Book of the Apocalypse:
I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God’s word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not have the brand-mark on their foreheads or hands.
He is the patron saint of ‘children, jobs, and health’, along with the innumerable places – not all of religious purpose – which share his name. We hope he intercedes for all those going beyond the point of hilarity in Saint Pancras pubs across England.
What the glorious martyrs signify, shrouded in their legends, is that from the very beginning of the Church’s life Christians have faced persecution for the truth, as Christ said they would. There is nothing the world, the flesh or the devil – or any of his minions – can do to us that should cause us to lose hope. Veritas liberabit vos: The Son of God not only preached the truth, but claimed to be the Truth Himself, the Way to peace, freedom and eternal life in heaven. But, like those embarking at Saint Pancras station, we all have to make that choice which way we want to go, deep in our hearts, mind and conscience – where we are all ‘alone with God’:
The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived.
Fitting intercessors for the March for Life, held each year here in Canada around their feast. Whatever strums und drangs this life offers, we may have hope, holding our heads high, even laughing and dancing on the way, for ’tis only in that true and abiding life we will find true rest, peace and fulfillment, where we all may meet merrily one day, Deo volente.
Sancti Pancras, Nereus et Achileus, orate pro nobis!
(source, in part, wikipedia.org)
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→