September 5
Raisa (+300)
Bishop
In the year 303, Emperor Diocletian issued an edict ordering all bishops, priests and religious to be imprisoned.
Biography
Likewise, he imposed capital punishment for anyone who refused to make sacrifices to the gods. It was in that year, when Raisa, daughter of a priest from Tamieh, on the border of the Libyan desert, was coming to draw water from a well, when a procession of monks and consecrated virgins passed by, whom the police were taking to Alexandria to judge and kill them. Leaving her pitcher there, Raisa tried to join them, and when they rejected her, she shouted so loudly that she was a Christian and uttered such insults against the gods and against the emperor that they ended up finding her worthy of being part of the procession. They cut off his head and his remains were thrown into the fire.
Practical advice
With simplicity and joy, he teaches a truth of faith with clarity and affection and ends with a brief thanksgiving.