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CONSTANCY.-St. Philip, bishop of Heraclea, having been denounced to the satellites of the emperor Dioclesian, was arrested together with the priest Severus and the deacon Hermes. The three confessors refused, as might have been anticipated, to deliver up the holy books and to burn incense in honor of the idols. They underwent repeated examinations, were beaten, or rather so torn with rods, that their entrails were laid bare; they were then cast into a frightful dungeon, where they were to remain seven months; Philip and Hermes being bound in heavy fetters, and Severus having his feet passed through a number of planks, so contrived as not to allow the slightest movement. As their prison had a secret communication with the public theater, the preaching of the Gospel was scarcely interrupted, for numerous Christians profited by the occasion to come to them, seeking for consolation and strength to confess, even as they had done, the faith of Jesus Christ. At length, after seven months of rude trials, they were condemned to the flames; it was found necessary to carry Hermes to the stake, as he had lost the use of his limbs.

MORAL REFLECTION. -The true Christian ranks not among "those who shrink back in the hour of temptation;" temptation, on the contrary, strengthens them in the faith.-(Luke viii. 13.) Pictorial Half Hour with the Saints by Fr. Lecanu 1865

For Zealous Priests:
Sanctify to Thyself, O my Lord, the hearts of Thy priests, that, by the merits of Thy sacred humanity, they may become living images of Thee, children of Mary, and full of the fire of the Holy Ghost, that they may guard Thy house, and defend Thy glory, and that through their ministry the face of the earth may be renewed, and they may save those souls which have costs Thee all Thy blood. Amen
Queen of the Apostles, pray thy Son, the Lord of the Harvest, to send laborers into His harvest, and to spare His people.

(The Prayer Book. Imprimatur Samuel Cardinal Stritch Archbishop of Chicago, May 10, 1954.)