MAY 18TH, SAINT VENANTIUS, MARTYR

Month in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Venantius was a lad of Camerino (in the neighbourhood of Ancona,) who at fifteen years of age was accused of Christianity before Antiochus, Praefect of Camerino under the Emperor Decius. Venantius therefore appeared before Antiochus at the gate of the city, and when the Praefect had striven with him for a long while, by promises and threats, he commanded him to be scourged and thrown into irons, but an Angel loosed his bonds. He was afterwards scarified with lamps, and hung head downwards in smoke. Anastasius the trumpeter was amazed at his hardiness under suffering, and when it appeared to him that the Martyr was a second time loosed by an Angel, and was walking in white raiment on the smoke, he believed in Christ, and was baptized, with all his house, by the blessed Priest Porphyry, and a little while after they both together earned the palm of martyrdom. Now Venantius stood before the Praefect, and when he had again vainly tempted him to give up his faith in Christ, he cast him into prison, and sent unto him Attalus the crier. Attalus told him how that he also had been a Christian, but had denied that name, seeing it was a foolish faith which made Christians to throw away things present for a groundless hope of things to come. But Christ's brave champion, well knowing the wiles of our subtle enemy, drove the devil's servant from his presence. When he appeared again before the Praefect, his teeth and jaws were broken, and so mangled he was cast out upon a dunghill. But thence also an Angel delivered him, and he stood again before the judge. And there while Venantius was yet speaking, the judge fell from off the judgment-seat, and when he had cried with a loud voice, “Venantius, his God is true, take away our gods,” he died. Then they told the President of it, he commanded Venantius to be straightway thrown to the lions. But the beasts were not wild to him, and lay down at his feet. And meanwhile he taught the Christian faith to the people. So they took him away from thence and cast him once more into prison. The next day Porphyry came to the President, and told him how that he had seen in a vision of the night Venantius sprinkling certain ones with water, and they that were sprinkled shone with a marvellous light, and the President himself hidden in deep darkness. Then the President was moved to great anger and commanded forthwith to behead Porphyry. As for Venantius, he bade them drag him about in rough places, full of briars and thistles, until the evening. When it was over, he was left half dead, but in the morning he stood for the last time before the President, who commanded to cast him down from a steep rock. It pleased God that this should not kill him, and he was haled again through rough places for about a mile. There the soldiers were athirst, and Venantius, by the sign of the Cross, made waters to flow from a stone in a gulley hard by. This is that stone whereon also he left the imprint of his knees, and which can be seen to this day in his Church. By this wonder many were moved to believe in Christ and the President commanded them all, and Venantius with them, to be beheaded in the same place where they were. When it was done there were great lightnings and earthquakes, so that the President fled, but he could not fly from the judgment of God, and but a few days thereafter he died a most shameful death. Meanwhile the Christians took the bodies of Venantius and the others, and buried them in an honourable place, wherein they lie to this day, under the Church at Camerino which is dedicated to Venantius.