Spiritual Martyrdom in St. Gregory the Great
AC Rush - Theological Studies, 1962 - journals.sagepub.com
AC Rush
Theological Studies, 1962•journals.sagepub.comAMONG THE HOMILIES of St. Gregory the Great on the Gospel, 1 i\there is one on St.
Felicitas, the reputed mother of seven martyred sons. 2 After marveling, in a typically Roman
fashion, at the glory of martyrdom in a woman, 3 after extolling the strength of a man in the
body of a woman and the glory of one who overcame not only the world but her sex as well,
after contrasting her firmness with the weak inconstancy of men, Gregory concludes his
homily with these words: For love of us, dearly beloved brethren, our Redeemer laid down …
Felicitas, the reputed mother of seven martyred sons. 2 After marveling, in a typically Roman
fashion, at the glory of martyrdom in a woman, 3 after extolling the strength of a man in the
body of a woman and the glory of one who overcame not only the world but her sex as well,
after contrasting her firmness with the weak inconstancy of men, Gregory concludes his
homily with these words: For love of us, dearly beloved brethren, our Redeemer laid down …
AMONG THE HOMILIES of St. Gregory the Great on the Gospel, 1 i\there is one on St. Felicitas, the reputed mother of seven martyred sons. 2 After marveling, in a typically Roman fashion, at the glory of martyrdom in a woman, 3 after extolling the strength of a man in the body of a woman and the glory of one who overcame not only the world but her sex as well, after contrasting her firmness with the weak inconstancy of men, Gregory concludes his homily with these words:
For love of us, dearly beloved brethren, our Redeemer laid down His life. Let us, then, for love of Him, learn to overcome ourselves. If we do this perfectly, not only will we escape the oncoming punishments, but we will be rewarded with glory together with the martyrs. For although the opportunity of persecution is lacking, nevertheless our time of peace has its own peculiar martyrdom. For even though we do not bend our bodily neck to the sword, nevertheless with the spiritual sword we slay in our soul carnal desires. 4
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