i see people, both christian and not, look at the early church's martyrs, the virgin martyrs of rome, the deaths of the disciples and apostles, etc, and how historically unsound and/or solely tradition based a lot of the stories are and ask "so what's the point? why bother praying for the intercession of people who never really existed in the way they exist in the modern mind now? why bother celebrating the life of a martyr whose death is more legend than fact, and whose life we know nothing about?" and it makes it clear to me that they don't realize why so many of us ask for intercession or venerate saints and Mary. faith is more than fact, or history, or science. when i look at saints nereus & achilleus, two roman soldiers who brutally murdered christians on the emperor's orders despite believing it was wrong, who then finally stood their ground, casted aside their spears, and deserted, taking their death with pride, i do not read the tiny paragraph written by pope damasus of their actions and take it as fact. a paragraph does not a life make, and a burial site in a catacomb does not history prove. but it does show that, inside of us, we know that God calls us to align ourselves with Them and not any other earthly king. that we know that 'just following orders' is wrong. and i look at those two men and pray for their intercession to remember to uphold that Christly behavior. because even if it 'wasn't true', the impact it makes on my heart is true enough for me
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