It is not the pain but the purpose that makes a martyr - Saint Augustine.
St. Nemesius was a martyr, who was burned alive in Alexandria, Egypt, during the persecutions under Emperor Trajanus Decius. Nemesius was arrested and scourged and then burned to death. Like Christ, he was executed between two criminals. St. Nemesius of Alexandria, pray for us!
So what are we called to do as Catholic Christians by this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ we are celebrating today? We are called to: (a) acknowledge and honor the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist; (b) to thank God for remaining with us through the gift of His Son in the Eucharist; and, (c) to be grateful to God for feeding and strengthening us with the Body and Blood of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Our first reading today from the Second Book of Samuel, 2 Sm 5:1–3, ...
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we wish to attain heaven, we must be prepared to truly follow Christ by cutting off every and all things that will make us not attain the kingdom of heaven by resisting our evil inclinations. Then through sacrifice, give up things that are needed and that are dearest to our human nature and avoid the temptations of the devil.
