We continue to receive stories and other writings from our readers. We will continue to publish them as time and space become available. The following one was sent to us by Mario Silva Wong, a doctor and follower of the magazine.
Dr. Mario Silva Wong “ The service of our career is in our hands, but the gift comes to us from God.”
During the Roman Empire, under the regime of Philip, Christians and their religion were persecuted, tortured and killed. Many martyrs arose who professed and preferred to give their lives rather than renounce Christ. Among them, a woman called Apollonia (sister of a senator from Alexandria), a virgin of advanced age, who was always characterized by charity, piety and purity of heart.
During an investigation, Apollonia was captured and subjected to horrible tortures to make her utter the insults against Christ that they ordered her to. When she refused, a furious persecutor became angry and struck her in the face, breaking her teeth, which fell to pieces. She, with a bloody face, did not obey her torturers and, seeing that they were not getting anywhere, they threatened to throw her into a huge bonfire at the city gates, and that she would be burned tied to a stake. Exhausted, Apollonia pretended that she was going to think about what they were proposing and asked them to untie her hands so she could say a final prayer to heaven. Instead of doing what she said, she decided to jump into the burning bonfire to avoid renouncing Christ and her religion.
The persecutors and the governor were astonished to see that the flames did not consume her nor did they harm her in any way. Seeing this, they tried tirelessly to beat her so that she would die, but the hand of the Almighty protected her. Finally, she was beheaded.
Meanwhile, she told them that when they suffered from dental problems and ailments, they should invoke her name, for she would intercede to alleviate their suffering. In this way, she offered her own pain for the pain of anyone who might suffer it later.
His death occurred in 249 AD. His date of veneration is February 9.
Bibliographyía.-
BUTLER, Lives of the Saints. Vol. I, January-February-March, 2nd edition. Spanish translation, Guinea, Collier´s Internationes, Clute, SA Mexico, DF, 1964.
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