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St. Sebastian

by Mike from Mankato

St. Sebastian (www.abcgallery.com)
St. Sebastian (www.abcgallery.com)

Sebastian was born in Newborn, Gaul and the actual date is unknown. He was a young officer in the Roman army in about 283. Sebastian was a devout Christian but he could not let others know because at the time Christians were being persecuted by Emperor Diocletian.

Sebastian's goal was to secretly help the Christian prisoners. Two brothers, Mark and Marcellinus, had just been baptized and all of their friends wanted them to drop the faith. Sebastian saw this and spoke out about God's love and forgiveness. People realized that he was a Christian, and because they looked up to Sebastian, they began to believe in God.

Throughout Sebastian's life he preached and converted many people and this was also very dangerous for Sebastian. When the word reached the emperor that he was a Christian, he was sentenced to death. Sebastian was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. The soldiers left him for dead. However, he was not dead and a woman named Irene brought him back to health. Sebastian then went face to face with the emperor and spoke of God's forgiveness. Guards then beat Sebastian to death with clubs.

Sebastian was motivated by all of the persecution that occurred among the Christians. He felt that somebody needed to stand up for them and being a famous soldier, he had a lot of influence. Sebastian was the patron of athletes because of his persistence in the faith. He is also the patron of archers. His feast day is January 20th.

Ultimately, Sebastian shows others that it is very important to stand up for what you believe in. Sebastian changed the world in a simple way by preaching God's word and converting people along the way. Sebastian knew that being a Christian was dangerous but he stayed strong in his faith. Others were inspired by this.

Page created on 11/28/2008 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 11/28/2008 12:00:00 AM

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