Saint of the Day: St. Justin, Martyr

St. Justin (100 - 165) was a martyr, philosopher, and defender of Christianity. He was born into a pagan family at Flavia Neopolis, or Nablus, in Palestine. At the age of thirty, he became a Christian and traveled to debate pagan philosophers, eventually going to Rome. There he was denounced and tried with Charita, Chariton, Euelpistus, Hierox, Liberianus, and Paeon. They were scourged and beheaded. Jus­tin, also called “the Philosopher,” was the first layman to serve as an apologist. His works include Apologies for the Christian Religion and Dialogue with the Jew Trypho.

He is the patron saint of: apologists, lecturers, orators, philosophers, and speakers.

Prayer

Dear Savior, Saint Justin struggled with his intellect in order to find You. He had studied various philosophies, filling his mind with many ideas that were contrary to Christianity, and this made it difficult for him to accept the Faith. But once converted, he wrote strong defenses of Christian beliefs. I ask him to pray for those who are highly educated intellectuals. Help them, O Lord, to get in touch with their spiritual hungers. Guide them in overcoming the perceived need for everything to be logical and fully understandable. Lead them to the humility that is necessary for accepting the true Faith. Saint Justin, pray for us. Amen.

~ Via Daily Prayers with the Saints for The New Millenium by Terry Ann Modica

Learn more about St. Justin at SQPN.

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Comments

  1. Enbrethiliel6/1/09, 1:35 PM

    +JMJ+

    In our age, the greatest intellectuals and the most highly educated seem to have reached the consensus that Christianity is for the needy and the foolish. I don't think we've ever had anything like this in the history of the world.

    St. Justin Martyr, pray for us!

    ReplyDelete

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