Daily Martyrology for March 7

In Carthage, in 203, the martyrdom of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity and their companions. Arrested while catechumens, Perpetua, Felicity and three male companions were martyred in the arena. The account of their arrest and martyrdom, part of it the work of Perpetua herself, is an important Christian document.

In 976, at Gorze, John, abbot. He inherited a wealthy estate, but was attracted to religious life. In 933, he and a companion were sent to revitalize the abbey of Gorze. John was made prior. After heading a delegation to the caliph of Cordova, he was elected abbot in 960. He imposed austere reforms which were adopted by other monasteries in the area around Gorze.

At Engelberg, in Switzerland, in 1178, Blessed Frowin, abbot. He was sent from St. Blasien to revitalize the faltering monastery at Engelberg, which had been founded in 1120 with monks from Muri. He was a very well-read man, and established a renowned scriptorium and library at Engelberg. He wrote a compendium on theological anthropology called In Praise of Free Will, and a Commentary on the Our Father. His immediate successors Berchtold and Heinrich continued his works. Like St. Blasien, Engelberg was a double monastery. The sisters moved to Sarnen in the early sixteenth century.

In the middle half of the 20th century, twenty-seven members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, martyred by the Communists. They include bishops, priests, laymen, and sisters.

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Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.