Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. George, Patron Saint of England l April 23

Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. George, Patron Saint of England l April 23 You must have heard story of St. George and the Dragon when you were younger. Well, it was not a fiction; it was a true story. George was a military man who was martyred for refusing to recant his belief in Christianity. He was martyred in Lydda, Palestine, in 303, during the reign and Christian persecution of Emperor Diocletian. He was a member of the Praetorian guards of the Emperor but his position did not spare him a cruel death. The Empress Alexandra of Rome, seeing how he willingly accepted death for the sake of Christ was convinced to become a Christian herself and joined George in being decapitated. St. George became so popular to all the people of his time that several stories have been written about him, some are legends and others are history. We shall content ourselves with what the Christian historians have recorded about him. He was one of the most venerated saints in Christianity. He is honored in England, Ethiopia, Georgia. Catalonia, Spain, Russia. His bones are buried in the Church of St. George, Lod, Israel. In the Greek tradition, George was born of Christian parents. When George was fourteen, his father was also martyred for the faith. His mother brought him back to her homeland in Syria. When his mother died, George travelled to Nicodemia where he joined the Roman army. It was there where he met Diocletian, whom he faithfully served but denounced him upon his refusal to sacrifice to idols. George experienced more than 20 tortures and in the course of these sufferings more than 40, 000 pagans were converted and were baptized. Now we will tell you about the dragon. Tradition tells that there was a fierce dragon in the City of Silene, Libya causing great panic. To prevent the dragon from devastating the people, two sheeps were given it each day for its meals. But when he sheeps were already lacking, they were forced to offer people to the dragon. The persons to be offered were chosen by lot and one time, the king’s daughter was the one chosen. No one wanted to take her place. George came to the rescue by slaying the dragon with a sword. The king offered gifts to George, for having saved his daughter’s life and having rid their city of the pestilence, but he refused them and instead gave the gifts to the poor. The people were so amazed that they were converted and became Christians. Since the event was so extraordinary, the people prepared works of art like sculptures depicting Gorge battling the dragon. The veneration of St. George continues today especially among Christians, Jews, Muslims and other religions. It spread out widely especially after the Fall of Constantinople. At present, in several countries like modern England, Saint George’s Day is among the feasts being celebrated.  In April 2019, on the 504th foundation of the parish, the parish priest of Sao George in Madeira Island, Portugal solemnly received the relics of St. George, long time patron of the parish. It is said that when the local Arabs and other non-Christian people have problems, whether financial, political, family, health, and others, they recourse to St.George for help, since they  honor him as both saint and prophet. St. George is commonly depicted wearing armour as a Roman soldier, mounted upon a white horse. It is of great importance to know that in the year 2003, a Vatican stamp issued on the anniversary of St. George’s death depicts St. George atop a white horse killing the dragon. Virtue: piety, humility, bravery, patience, detachment and love for the poor, Prayer: “O God, grant us through the prayer of St. George the strength and constancy to suffer for our holy faith and perseverance like him to the end.”