*Today we celebrate a family of martyrs! They were martyred in A.D. 270 in Rome. They buried other martyrs and then became the object of persecution and torture. Maris and his sons were beheaded, and their bodies burnt. Martha was drowned outside of Rome at a place now called Santa Ninfa. According to tradition, a Roman woman gathered the remains of the family and had them buried on her estate, which became a place of pilgrimage. They are inscribed in the Roman Martyrology, which is the official list of saints recognized by the Church. They are not on the General Roman Calendar because we only know with certainty their names and their place of burial.
How is it that a whole family could be martyred? They were willing to die for what they believed in. They were witnesses to their faith in Jesus Christ and the hope of the Resurrection. Are our families prepared to do the same? Do we believe to the point of witnessing to our faith in Jesus Christ? Are we willing to live lives of heroic virtue? Do people see in us what others saw in our saints—a love of God which can’t be denied or suppressed?
Do we live the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy so that others cannot but see our faith? We need to clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and the imprisoned, give food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, bury the dead, instruct the ignorant, comfort the afflicted, warn the sinner, counsel the doubtful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses patiently, and pray for the living and the dead. This is Jesus’ command! Then everyone will know we are Christians, by our love! May Sts. Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum guide us and pray for us!
*https://www.akg-images.co.uk/archive/Fresco---Saints-Marius-Martha-Audifax-Abachum.-(Christian-Martyrs-)---Basilica-Santo-Stefano-Rotondo---Rome-2UMEBM5IHTJLT.html
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