The life of St. Sebastiano
Sebastiano,
whose name derives from the Greek significa“venerabile”,appellativo
what the same Greek had given to the August emperor to mean a sense of greatness and respect. It was born to Narbona, city of southern France, toward the second halves the ‘200 AD, from illustrious family. Been orphan of his father he anchors little boy, you was conducted by his mother to Milan where spent the first years of the infancy and the adolescence.
His mother educated his only child to the school of the generosity and the courage, preparing him to the great and last sacrifice: Jesus's Crocifisso imitation.
Young, from the strong mind, from the energetic character, hee answered to the voice of the grace that did a defender of the Church of it, full of enthusiasm runs there where more need of him there was. Part for Rome, where the persecution against the Christians had become violent and fierce. This was the conclusive cause of the trip of St. Sebastiano toward the capital, to assist the Christians, to protect them and above all to prevent the abnegations. Sebastiano feared that the Christians, terrified by the torments and by the persecutions, to escape the death, denied that Christ and that faith that with so much rush you had embraced.
But before touching it covers her glorious and final of his deadly walk, Sebastiano for enough long once it drove the missionary conquest of the Christians and it enlisted him in the imperial army to be able to practice more easily, under the emblem of the militia, the fertile his apostolato of faith.
For his culture, for his gentleness of mind, for his goodness, Sebastiano even though heanchors young it reached the maximum degrees of the military hierarchy, allowing the place of commander of the First Court of the Watch Pretoriana to occupy him, under the empire of Diocleziano and Massimiano that esteemed him, they loved him without feeding some suspicion on his affiliation to the Christian faith.
In the year 287 AD the persecution of Diocleziano raged more and more against the Church, that was forced to retire himself in the silence of the catacombs, while his innocent children in the arena of the Colosseum were brought for being lacerated by the fairs or to be burnt alive. During this slaughter, unworthy of a civil people, Sebastiano didn't succeed in keeping silent and to hide his/her faith in Christ Signore and it started to operate.
A scurvy courtier, Torquato, accused and denounced Sebastiano as Christian to the emperor Diocleziano. The emperor not trenette to those words and he called Sebastiano to testify. Hostile Sebastiano of the hypocrisy, from true soldier of Jesus Cristo, he confessed his. For this noble and frank declaration, Diocleziano inveighs, it accuses him of betrayal and of ingratitude: Sebastiano, therefore, despite his moral and civil virtues, only because Christian, death row inmate came.
Conducted in the sacred grove to Adone, on the Palatine and tied up one to a trunk of tree, Sebastiano becomes target of arrows.
The iconografia Christian, the literature, and the popular tradition of every time they represent St. young Sebastiano and pierced through by few arrows: in the braccias, in the breast, to the legs as if the performers, his same soldiers that loved him, had tried to spare him, while him “Actions” of his passion they confirm that you was pierced through by so many darts by to be able to be compared to a curl.
Abandoned on the field, because considered dead, night was found again time by the companions of faith.
It was advanced night when the compassionate Irene reached the place of the martyrdom to bring away the body and to give him honorable burial in the catacombs: but what its amazement was not in to ascertain that the martyr was not dead. !!! It did him therefore to bring some servants in the imperial building where she lived and here helped by the priest Policarpo, he took care of the terrible wounds so that Sebastiano in little time returned to rifiorire.
Nevertheless, Sebastiano had voted by now his own life to God and so one day introduced him to Diocleziano shouted him: “Dioclezianos, are a man gone out of the grave to warn you that draws near the time of the revenge! You have bathed this city with the blood of the servants of God and his anger it will place serious on you: you will die of violent death and God it will give an emperor to his Church according to his heart. Reformed while it is being time and question pardon to God.”
A depth silence, broken only from the proclamation of the death sentence, it followed these words. As it was used only for the slaves, Sebastiano was whipped and drowned
It was AD the 20 January of the year 304
Its body was thrown in the cloaca that passes under the street of the Triumphs near the arc of Costantino. Him “Actions” they narrate that the Saint appeared to the Roman matron Lucina, to which churches to be buried in the sacred enclosure near the bare ones of the apostles Pietro and Paul, after having pointed out her place where its body had remained impigliato.Lucina it found again, with the help of the Christians, the body of St. Sebastiano and it buried him with all the honors in the Cemetery to Catacumbas, destination of veneration in every time.
In the IV century was built a called basilica “Ecclesia Apostolorum” and such title remained up to the IX century, when prevailed the denomination of Basilica of St. Sebastiano (on the Appia Ancient to Rome). Her sacred Relics are preserved on the altar of the crypt.
The fame of St. Sebastiano was quickly propagated in the antiquity, in the medioevo, actually to the XVI century also as taumaturgo and protector against the plague. Pope Caio elected him Defender of the Church; of a lot of guilds as the archers, it is the protector. The youth of Catholic Action has selected him as model of life. Currently it is patron of the Urban Officers of Italy and compatrono in Rome.
In these times of desecration and negation of the spiritual and religious, human and social values, the figure of St. Sebastiano is more and more long live and actual and its intercession is implored for helping the disorientated young people and misguided, to be saved themselves from the sin.
I travel in the iconografia of san Sebastiano
edited by Giovanni Morale
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