Daily Martyrology for March 18

In Jerusalem, in 386, St. Cyril, bishop and doctor. As a priest, he delivered Catechetical Instructions, 24 of which have survived. Intended for catechumens and the newly baptized, they are an invaluable witness to the teaching and liturgy of the church in the middle of the fourth century. He was bishop of Jerusalem for 35 years, 16 of which were spent in exile.

In 651, St. Braulio, bishop. A student and friend of St. Isidore (April 4), he succeeded his own brother John as bishop of Zaragoza. He was a skilled preacher and writer. He hated luxury and was very generous to the poor. His relics were transferred to the church of Our Lady of the Pillar in 1275.

In England, in 979, St. Edward, martyr. The son of King Edgar, Edward was baptized by Dunstan. He became king in a disputed election. His ties with Dunstan and the monastic movement as well as his violent temper alienated many of the nobility, and he was assassinated.

In 1883, in France, Blessed Martha Le Bouteiller. She grew up a devout and hard-working farm girl. On a pilgrimage she visited the abbey of Saint-Sauveur which St. Mary-Margaret Postel (July 16) was restoring for her Sisters of Christian Schools. Martha joined the community and was in charge of the wine cellar and cider making at the monastery for the next forty years.

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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.