Seven Quick Takes
1. The saint of the day for March 13 is St. Euphrasia. Saint Euphrasia (382-412), born in Constantinople, was the daughter of Antigonus, senator of Constantinople and related to Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Her parents were pious people who gave generously to the poor. After her father died, she and her mother became wards of Emperor Theodosius. When Euphrasia was only five years old, the emperor arranged a marriage for her to the son of a senator. Two years later, she and her mother moved to their estate in Egypt. There, at the age of seven, Euphrasia decided to enter a monastery. Her mother died soon afterward of natural causes, leaving her an orphan. At the age of twelve, Euphrasia was ordered by the Emperor Aracdius, successor to Theodosius, to marry the senator’s son as arranged. Euphrasia requested that she be relieved of the marriage arrangement, that the emperor sell off her family property, and that he use the money to feed the poor and buy the freedom of slaves. A...