St Justin (100 ca – 165) was born into a pagan family at Flavia (Nablus) in the West Bank. In his youth, he described himself as a Gentile. He received a good education although, in his own writings, he says that he was dissatisfied with his teachers, who failed to provide “inspiration to their young people” and were “unable to explain God’s being to him”.
St Justin’s conversion to Christianity was greatly influenced by a Syrian Christian, who “spoke of the testimony of the Prophets as being more reliable than the reasoning of Philosophers”. Soon after meeting him, Justin renounced his then religion and dedicated himself to the service of the Divine. He started travelling and preaching the Gospel of Jesus as “the true philosophy”. Not unexpectedly he was reported to the Roman authorities for his Christian teachings, arrested along with some of his students, tried and all were beheaded.
To avoid martyrdom, St Justin and his Companions were asked to renounce their Christian faith and give sacrifice to the Roman gods. St Justin gave a collective response saying, “That is our desire, to be tortured for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so to be saved, for that will give us salvation and firm confidence at the more terrible universal tribunal of Our Lord and Saviour”.
The Feast of St Justin is the 1st June.
St Justin:
Pray for us that we will proudly share our faith with others through our daily words and actions.
Glory be to the…
