Martyrs of Mesopotamia

Today the Church commemorates the Martyrs of Mesopotamia. In the year 303, in the midst of a mass persecution orchestrated by Galerius, Christians from throughout Mesopotamia (located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq) were rounded up and sentenced to death. They were hung upside down from rods as slow-burning fires were kindled under them, choking them with smoke. After their deaths, the fires were stoked and their bodies were burned away by fire.

Prayer of the Day
Loving God,
the fire of your truth and compassion
blazed in the hearts of the Martyrs of Mesopotamia,
kindling fear and murder in the hearts of the civil rulers of their day.
May we, like them,
always be found constant in our love for you,
and stedfast in our faith and convictions,
even when faced with difficult trials or a painful death.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.