Religious and Martyrs (d. 1638)
Their story
+ Pierre Berthelot was born in France in 1600. For a time he served as a cartographer and naval commander in the service of the French and Portuguese. In 1635, he became a Discalced Carmelite in Goa, India, receiving the religious name Denis (or Dionysius) of the Nativity.
+ In Goa, Father Dionysius met Portuguese born Carmelite lay brother, Thomas Rodriguez, who was known in religion as Brother Redemptus of the Cross.
+ In 1638, Denis was asked to serve as pilot for a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Sumatra, an island in western Indonesia; Redemptus was asked to accompany him.
+ As soon as they arrived in Sumatra than their group was taken prisoner by the Muslim Sumatrans. Several in their party were murdered, including the two friars who refused to deny their Faith.
Blessed Denis and Blessed Redemptus were beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1900.
For reflection
“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
their refuge in a time of distress.
The Lord helps and rescues them,
rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take refuge in him.”—Psalm 37:39-40
Spiritual bonus
On November 29, we also remember the Roman priest Saturninus and the deacon Sisinius. During the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian, these two men were sentenced to hard labor and subsequently executed in the year 304.
Prayer
Almighty ever-living God, who gave Saints Denis and Redemptus the grace of suffering for Christ, come, in your divine mercy, we pray, to the help of our own weakness, that, as your Saints did not hesitate to die for your sake, we, too, may live bravely in confessing you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Liturgy of the Hours: Common of Martyrs—For Several Martyrs)
Saint profiles prepared by Father Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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