Blaise, bishop and martyr

Biography

Its name means: "weapon of divinity." At first he practiced medicine, and took advantage of the great influence that his quality as an excellent doctor gave him, to speak to his patients in favor of Jesus Christ and his holy religion, and thus gain many followers for Christianity. Knowing his great holiness, the people elected him Bishop. When Diocletian's persecution broke out, Saint Blaise went to hide in a mountain cave, and from there he directed and encouraged the persecuted Christians, and at night he secretly went down to the city to help them and to run and console those who were in prison, and to bring them the Holy Scripture. Tradition says that wounded or sick beasts came to the cave where the saint was hidden and he cured them. And that these animals came in large numbers to visit him affectionately. One day he saw that the government hunters were coming up the hill and then he scared the beasts away and thus saved them from being victims of the hunt. Then the hunters, in revenge, took him prisoner. His arrival in the city was a true apotheosis. The governor offered him many gifts and temporary advantages if he left the religion of Jesus Christ and converted to the pagan religion, but Saint Blaise proclaimed that he would be a friend of Jesus and his holy religion until the last moment of his life. His martyrdom: then he was brutally beaten and his back was torn with hooks. He prayed for his executioners and for all Christians to persevere in the faith. The governor, seeing that the saint did not stop proclaiming his faith in God, decreed that his head be cut off. And when they took him to the site of his martyrdom, along the way he blessed the immense crowd that looked at him full of admiration. And his blessing obtained the healing of many. But there was a cure that excited everyone. A poor woman had her little son dying because a fish bone had stuck in his throat. He ran towards a place where the saint had to pass. He knelt down and presented the sick man who was drowning. Saint Blaise placed his hands on the child's head and prayed for him. Immediately the thorn disappeared and the little boy regained his health. The people cheered him enthusiastically. The year 316 AD He was beheaded, and after his death he began to obtain many miracles from God in favor of those who prayed to him. In ancient times, Saint Blaise was invoked as the Patron of hunters, and people had great faith in him as an effective protector against throat diseases.