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MONDAY, AUGUST 2
FEAST OF EUSEBIUS OF VERCELLI, BISHOP

Fighting for the faith

When is a martyr not a martyr? Usually when he or she dies peacefully after a long life, as did today’s saint, Eusebius of Vercelli (283-371). Nevertheless, the church honors Eusebius as a martyr because he endured a great deal of suffering. As a bishop during the church’s formative years hashing out doctrine and theology, Eusebius struggled against opponents whose ideas about God were contrary to his own. These were not polite discussions. The debates featured fights, kidnappings, and an occasional homicide. Eusebius himself got run out of town. In memory of Saint Eusebius’s hardships, work to bring conflicts to peaceful resolutions.

TODAY’S READINGS: Jeremiah 28:1-17; Matthew 14:13-21

“And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, ‘Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you made this people trust in a lie.’ ”


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