|
Icon of St. Justa (with St.
Rufina and other Spanish saints)
St. Justa is the leftmost of
the three female Saints in the front row. The other two are St. Eulalia
of Barcelona (centre) and St. Rufina of Seville, with whom Justa was
martyred. The back row, from l. to r.: Sts. Isidore of Seville; Apostle
James; Osius of Cordova; and Leander of Sevilla. Holy Hispanic Saints,
pray to God for us!
Feast
of St. Justa:
July 19
Sts. Justa and Rufina were sisters and natives
of Sevilla. Justa
was born in 268 AD, Rufina in 270 AD, of a poor and pious Christian
family. These holy sisters worked the potter's wheel and sold their pots, giving the
proceeds of their labours to the poor of the city for love of Christ.
During a pagan festival, they refused to sell their wares for use in
these demonic celebrations. In anger, the locals shattered all their
dishes and their pots. Justa and Rufina retaliated by smashing an image
of the demon goddess "Venus." The city's prefect, Diogenian, ordered
them to prison. Failing to convince them to renounce their faith in
Christ, he had them tortured on the rack and with iron hooks. This
having failed, they were cast back into prison to suffer from hunger
and thirst. Then they were then asked to walk barefoot to the Sierra
Morena; when this did not break their resolve, they were imprisoned
without water or food. Justa died first. Her holy body, thrown into a
well, was later recovered by the bishop Sabinus. Diogenian believed
that the death of Justa would break the resolve of Rufina. Far from it,
Rufina refused to renounce her faith and was thus thrown to the lions.
The lion in the amphitheatre, however, refused to attack Rufina,
remaining as docile as a house cat. Infuriated, Diogenian had Rufina
strangled or beheaded and her body burned. Her body was recovered by
Sabinus also, and was buried alongside that of her sister in 287 AD.
Holy Martyrs Justa and Rufina, pray to God for us!
Icon by the hand of Priest Andrei Davidov.
|
