De sancta Christina
The Call to Faith
Christina rejects her father's idols to embrace the Trinity, leading to her initial imprisonment and suffering.
Christina was like one anointed with chrism; she carried the balsam of a good reputation in her conduct, the oil of devotion in her mind, and a blessing on her lips. Born to noble parents in Tyre, Italy, she was placed by her father in a tower with twelve handmaids, keeping silver and gold idols with her; and because she was very beautiful and sought in marriage by many, her parents, unwilling to give her to anyone, kept her there so she would remain in the worship of the gods. But she, taught by the Holy Spirit, abhorred the sacrifices of idols and hid the incense meant for the gods in a window. When her father arrived, the handmaids told him, "Your daughter, our mistress, refuses to sacrifice to our gods, but claims that she is a Christian." Her father tried to coax her into worshipping the gods, but she replied, "Don't call me your daughter, but the daughter of Him to whom the sacrifice of praise is due." For I don't offer sacrifice to mortal gods, but to the God of heaven. Her father said to her, "My daughter, do not offer sacrifice to only one God, lest others become angry with you." She replied, "You have spoken well, though you don't know the truth; for I offer sacrifice to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit." Her father asked her, "If you worship three gods, why don't you worship the others as well?" She replied, "Those three are one God." After this, Christina smashed her father's gods and gave away both the gold and silver to the poor. When her father returned to worship the gods but found them gone, he heard from the servants what Christina had done with them; in his anger, he ordered her to be stripped and beaten by twelve men, until the very men beating her grew exhausted. Then Christina said to her father, "Those who beat me are without honor or shame and are abominable to God; they are failing, so ask your gods to give them strength, if you can." Then he ordered her to be chained and thrown into prison. Hearing this, her mother tore her clothes and went to the prison, where she prostrated herself at her daughter's feet, saying, "My daughter Christina, light of my eyes, have mercy on me." She replied to her, "Why do you call me daughter? Don't you know that I have the name of God?"
The Furnace of Affliction
Christina endures escalating tortures and a miraculous baptism in the sea before her father's sudden death.
When he couldn't persuade her of anything, he went back to the man and reported what she had said. Then her father ordered her to be brought before his tribunal. He said to her, "Offer sacrifice to the gods; if you don't, you'll be afflicted with many sacrifices, and you won't be called my daughter." She replied, "You've done me a great favor, because now you no longer call me a daughter of the devil." Whatever is born of the devil is a demon; you are the father of Satan himself. Then he ordered her flesh to be scraped with claws and her tender limbs to be torn. Christina, however, took some of her own flesh, threw it into her father's face, and said, "Take it, you tyrant, and eat the flesh you begot." Then her father placed her upon a wheel and lit a fire with oil, but the flames leaped out and killed 1,500 men. He killed the men. Her father, however, attributing all these things to magic arts, had her thrown back into prison, and when night fell, he ordered his servants to tie a large stone to her neck and throw her into the sea. When they had done this, angels immediately took her up; Christ then descended to her and baptized her in the sea, saying, "I baptize you in God, my Father, and in me, Jesus Christ, his Son, and in the Holy Spirit." And he entrusted her to Michael the archangel, who brought her to land. Hearing this, her father struck his forehead and said, "By what sorcery do you do this, that you practice your magic in the sea?" She replied, "Foolish and unhappy man, I received this grace from Christ." Then he sent her to prison, ordering that she be beheaded the next day. That very night, however, her father Urban was found dead.
The Triumph of Grace
Christina survives successive persecutions by new judges through miraculous protection until her final martyrdom.
A wicked judge named Elius succeeded him. He had an iron bed prepared and heated with oil, resin, and pitch, then had Christina thrown into it, with four men shaking the bed so that she would be consumed more quickly. Then Christina praised God, who wanted her, newly reborn, to be tossed about in a cradle like a little infant. Then the angry judge had her head shaved and ordered her to be led naked through the city to Apollo, where he commanded her to worship the idol, which then collapsed and was reduced to dust. Terrified by this, the judge gave up his spirit. Julian succeeded him; he had a furnace heated and Christina thrown inside, where she remained unharmed for five days, singing and walking about with angels. Hearing this, Julian attributed it to magic arts and had two asps, two vipers, and two snakes sent to her; but the snakes licked her feet, the asps hung harmlessly at her breasts, and the snakes coiled around her neck and licked her sweat. Julian then said to the enchanter, 'Are you a magician too?' The beasts were irritated. When he did this, the snakes attacked him and killed him instantly; then Christina commanded the snakes and made them go to a desert place, and she raised the dead man to life. Julian then ordered her breasts to be cut off, from which milk flowed instead of blood. Next, he had her tongue cut out, but Christina, not losing her speech at all, took the piece of her tongue and threw it into Julian's face, blinding him by striking his eye. In his anger, Julian shot two arrows near her heart and one into her side; once struck, she surrendered her spirit to God around the year of our Lord 287, under Diocletian. Her body rests in a fortress called Bolsena, located between Orvieto and Viterbo.
Read the original Latin
Christina quasi chrismate uncta, habuit enim balsamum boni odoris in conversatione et oleum devotionis in mente et benedictionem in ore. — Christina nobilissimis parentibus orta in Tyro Italiae a patre suo in quadam turri cum duodecim pedissequis collocata est, Deos argenteos et aureos secum habens: et cum pulcherrima esset et a multis in conjugium peteretur, parentes ejus nulli eam cóncedere volentes, ut in Deorum cultu maneret. Ipsa autém a spiritu sancto docta ydolorum sacrificia abhorrebat et incensa Diis immolanda in fenestra abscondebat. Venienti autem patri ejus pedissequae dixernnt: filia tua domina nostra Diis nostris immolare contemnit, sed christianam se esse asserit. Pater autem ei blandiens ad Deorum culturam eam provocabat, cui illa: noli me vocare filiam tuam, sed ejus, quem sacrificium laudis decet. Non enim Diis ,mortalibus, sed Deo coeli sacrificium offero. Cui pater: filia mea, ne uni Deo tantum sacrificium offeras, ne tibi alii irascantur. Cui illa: bene locutus es nesciens veritatem, offero enim sacrificium patri et filio et spiritui sancto.
Cni pater: si tres Deos adoras, "v cur etiam alios non adoras? Cui illa: tres illi una Deitas sunt. Post hoc Christina patris sui Deos confregit et aurum et argentum pauperibus erogavit. Rediens pater, ut Deos adoraret, sed ipsos non inveniens et ab ancillis, quid de illis Christina fecerit, andiens iratus eam jussit exspoliari et a duodecim viris caedi, adeo ut ipsi ministri deficerent. Tunc Christina patri dixit: sine honore et pudore et abominabilis Deo, qui me caedunt, deficiunt, pete illis a Diis tuis virtutem, si valeas. Tunc catenatam eam in carcerem mitti jussit. Audiens hoc mater vestimenta sua scidit et ad carcerem pergens filiae pedibus se prostravit dicens: filia mea Christina, lumen oculorum, miserere mei. Cui illa: quid me dicis filiam, nescis, quia nómen Dei hei habeo?
Cumque nihil sibi persuadere posset, ad virum rediit et, quid sibi responderit, indicavit. Tunc pater jussit eam ante tribunal suum duci. Cui dixit: sacrifica Diis,si non antem, multis afflicteris sacrificiis et mea filia non diceris. Cui illa: magnam mihi gratiam praestitisti, quia jam me non vocas filiam dyaboli. Quod autem de dyabolo nascitur, daemon est, tu es pater ipsius Sathanae. Tunc ille jussit carnes ejus ungulis radi et membra ejus tenera ! disrampi , Christina autem de carnibus suis accipiens in vultum projecit patris dicens: accipe, tyranne, et carnem a te genitam comede. Tunc pater super rotam eam posuit et ignem cum oleo accendit, sed flamma exsiliens MD.
viros occidit. Pater autem ejus omnia haée magicis artibus adscribens ipsam iterum in carcerem mitti fecit et facta nocte jussit pueris suis, ut lapidem grandem ad collum ejus ligarent et in mare projicerent. Quod cum fecissent, protinus angeli eam assumunt, Christus autem ad cam descendit et eam in mari baptizavit dicens : baptizo te in Deo, patre meo, et in me Jesu Christo filio ejus et in spiritu sancto% Et commisit eam Michaeli archaugelo, qui eam ad terram adduxit. Quod audiens pater frontem suam percutiens dixit: quibus maleficiis hoc facis, ut in mari maleficia tua exerceas ? Cui illa: stulte et infelix, a Christo hanc accepi gratiàm. Tunc in carcerem eam misit jubens, ut in crastino debeat decollari. Ipsa autem nocte Urbanus pater suus mortuus invenitur. Huic quidam judex iniquus successit, nomine Elius, qui cunam ferream succensam cum oleo, resina et pice parari fecit et Christinam ibidem jactari cunamque a viris quatuor agitari, ut citius consumeretur.
D) Vulgo: sin autein, Tunc Christina Deum laudavit, qui eam nuper renatam denuo volebat, ut infantulam, incunabulis jactari. Tunc judex iratus fecit radi caput ejus et nudam per civitatem usque ad Apollinem duci, ubi ydolo imperavit et corruens in pulverem est redactum. Quod autem judex expavit et spiritum tradidit. Huic successit Julianus, qui fornacem succendi fecit et Christinam intus jattari, ubi per quinque dies cum angelis cantans et deambulans illaesa permansit. Quod audiens Julianus et magicis artibus hoc adscribens duas aspides, duas viperas, duos colubros ad eam mitti fecit, sed serpentes ejus pedes lingunt, aspides nil nocentes ad ubera pendent, colubri collo se volventes sudorem lingunt, Julianus autem incaniatori dixit: numquid et tu magus es? irrita bestias. Quod cum faceret, serpentes in eum impetum fecerunt et eum protinus occiderunt, tune serpentibus imperavit Christina et ad desertum locum ire fecit et mortuum hominem suscitavit. Tunc Julianus mammillas ejus praecidi mandavit, de quibus lac pro sanguine fluxit, Deinde linguam ejus praecidi fecit, Christina vero nequaquam loquelam amittens praescissuram linguae accipiens in faciem Juliani projecit et oculum ejus item percutiens eum excaecavit.
Iratus Julianus duas sagittas circa cor ejus et unam in latus ejus dimisit et illa percussa spiritum Deo tradidit circa annos domini CCLXXXVII sub Dyocletiano. Requiescit autem corpus ejus in quodam castro, quod Bulsenum vocatur, inter Urbem Veterem et Viterbum sito.
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