Great Missionaries | 3. Denis

Mardi, 17 Février, 2015

Verse of the Day: « Qui nous séparera de l’amour de Christ ? Serait-ce la détresse, l’angoisse, la persécution, la faim, le dénuement, le danger ou l’épée ? De fait, il est écrit : C’est à cause de Toi qu’on nous met à mort à longueur de journée, qu’on nous considère comme des brebis, destinées à la boucherie. Au contraire, dans tout cela, nous sommes plus que vainqueurs grâce à Celui qui nous a aimés. » Romains 8.35-37

Quote of the Day: “Life is like a bicycle, you have to keep going to keep your balance.”—Albert Einstein

« La vie, c’est comme une bicyclette, il faut avancer pour ne pas perdre l’équilibre. »—Albert Einstein

French Fun Fact: France is the most visited country in the world with 75 million tourists yearly. (confessedtravelholic.com)

What’s Really Going On Over Here:

Weather – Light fog, Precip. 0%

Temperature – 37⁰F

News – Afghanistan: Army launches preventive operations against Taliban

More News – http://www.francetv.fr/

A Day In the Life:

I believe I’ve shared earlier, that I’m not really a big talker. I can talk about space and Jesus for hours, and I also say some stupid stuff, but I’m not a ‘I just met you, please tell me about yourself’ kind of guy. One of my many nicknames in high school (although short-lived) was actually ‘radio’, because I wore my headphones so much (though I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy who came up with it had other reasons for calling me that that he didn’t share with me). I haven’t changed a bit. But my new host parents love to talk – and I love talking to them.

Last night after dinner when the kids had gone to bed, the three of us stayed in the kitchen and talked for another hour and a half. They were asking me questions about life at Liberty, about being a boy scout, about other sports I played as a kid – and then I actually ended up sharing my testimony. It turned out to be a great time of fellowship, and believe we sharpened each other in Christ.

Denis

Saint Denis was a missionary during the Roman Empire, born in Italy and martyred in the Roman province of Gaul around 258 AD. Not much is known about his life (in fact he is more famous for his

Trust me, this caught me off guard too...

death), but here’s what I found. Prepare yourselves…

Gregory of Tours states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the "Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii" dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the Passio that Denis was sent from Italy to convert Gaul in the third century, forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out under the direction of Pope Fabian. This was after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian community at Lutetia. Denis, with his inseparable companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, who were martyred with him, settled on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine. Roman Paris lay on the higher ground of the Left Bank, away from the river.

Denis, having alarmed the pagan priests by his many conversions, was executed by beheading on the highest hill in Paris (now Montmartre), which was likely to have been a druidic holy place. The martyrdom of Denis and his companions is popularly believed to have given the site its current name, derived from the Latin mons martyrium "The Martyrs' Mountain", although the name is possibly derived from mons mercurei et mons martis, “Hill of Mercury and Mars”. After his head was cut off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked ten kilometres (six miles) from the summit of the hill, preaching a sermon the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. Of the many accounts of this martyrdom, this is noted in detail in the Golden Legend and in Butler's Lives of The Saints. The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was marked by a small shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica, which became the burial place for the kings of France.

(The indented information above is a direct quote from the article on Saint Denis found on Wikipedia.com)