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to the point that in Thessaloniki, the city where

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he was martyred, that they have an entire holy

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week leading up to the celebration. And yet if

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we look at his martyrdom, he doesn't have the

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peeling of the flesh, he doesn't have the wheel

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of torment and the things that we see in the

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martyrdom of, say, St. George the Trophy Bearer

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or that we see in the martyrdoms of other great

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martyrs. But what we have in, of course, St.

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Demetrius is really a perfect patience and trust

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in God until the very end. Actually, in the Madden's

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Gospel, it says, By your patience acquire ye

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your souls. And for the fathers, of course, when

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we hear patience, that doesn't mean just resignation.

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That doesn't mean inactivity. Because patience,

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you know, of course, in Revelations, Apostle

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John, the theologian, teaches that the saints,

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of course, run the race with patience, and their

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patience is, of course, keeping the commandments.

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So being patient doesn't mean giving up, but

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it means keeping one's eye always on the goal,

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always on the goal, which is, of course, union

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with Christ. St. Demetrius, above all in his

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life, he always had the face of Christ before

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him in all of his actions. And in Thessaloniki,

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where he, of course, was a great, in the military,

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he had attained to significant rank. But what

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everyone noticed was, of course, that he was

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peaceful, that he was loving, and that somehow

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he had heard the preaching of the apostles. In

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other words, the teaching of the apostles. And

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that became like a flame in his heart. And he

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simply... would tell the good news over and over

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again of Christ God incarnate for our sakes,

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born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius

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Pilate, died crucified, and rose from the dead.

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And Thessaloniki, which was itself a pagan city,

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suddenly became the name of Christ was heard

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everywhere in the streets because of, of course,

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Saint Demetri. head Roman ruler came through

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and he heard of this. He brought St. Demetrius

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before him and St. Demetrius was calm, patient,

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kind, loving, but he didn't move an inch from

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his, of course, confession that Christ is God

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and Christ is absolutely everything. Everything

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for him, everything for the faithful, and there

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was no way that he could tempt him either through

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promise of earthly honors and earthly wealth

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or even from the promise of torment and he was

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thrown into of course the sewers in Thessaloniki

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where he simply continued to pray Nestor came

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to get his blessing and after getting his blessing

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he went to fight the chief gladiator of the of

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the ruler of the time. And there he cried out

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by the prayers of St. Demetrius, he says, I will

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defeat you. And of course, this young Nestor

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was not particularly of the same size as the

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great gladiator. He was completely victorious.

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The emperor, he went, and the leader, and he

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sent someone to, of course, kill St. Demetrius

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with a spear, which the writers of the Lives

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of the Saints never fail to mention, very much

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like, of course, our Lord, who they pierced him

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with a spear. But what we see above all in that

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life is simply looking... always towards Christ,

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looking with patience, and just keeping one's

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focus on that. You know, often in the writings

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of the fathers, they talk about the proper honor

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of the saint is the imitation of the saint. And

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how do we imitate him? It's not that we, of course,

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look for suffering, because the saints, the martyrs,

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didn't look for suffering. But we imitate them

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above all by always looking to Christ. No matter

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what comes our way, what temptation, what difficulty,

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we look to Christ. And we imitate them above

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all by their love for Christ. Because it's their

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love for Christ that enables them to be patient.

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It's their love for Christ that enables them

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to fight any kind of temptation or torment that

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the devil would, of course, unleash upon them.

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And so, on this day in which we celebrate the

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great martyr, St. Demetrius, let's make a commitment

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to be patient, but to be patient with love. Patient,

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looking towards Christ, doing what we can, fulfilling

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the commandments, and so be accounted worthy

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of that kingdom which St. Demetrius has inherited

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and all the saints with Christ our Lord. Amen.