15/08/2024
SAINT TARCISIUS
Martyr of the Eucharist
Patron Saint of Altar Servers
After Mass, he took consecrated hosts to imprisoned Christians awaiting martyrdom. As a boy, he would be less suspect making the visit them were he a man.
As he traveled to the prison along the Roman road known as the Appian Way, he ran into a group of pagan boys and men who began to harass him. While they did not know, specifically, he belonged to the hidden group of Christians, they demanded he show them what he had in his hands, which were hiding in his clothes. Tarsicius refused, knowing they would likely take and desecrate the Blessed Sacrament if they got it from him. His continued refusal angered the crowd, who began to assault him. As the angry mob beat him, Tarcisius fell to the stones of the Appian Way, shielding the Host beneath his body. The mob did not relent once he fell and eventually killed him. When they rolled his body over to discover what he had been hiding, They found nothing. The Host had vanished.
PRAYER TO SAINT TARCISIUS
God, You have graciously called me to serve You upon Your altar. Grant me the graces that I need to serve You faithfully and wholeheartedly. Grant too that while serving You, may I follow the example of St. Tarcisius, who died protecting the Eucharist, and walk the same path that led him to Heaven. St. Tarcisius, pray for me and for all servers. Amen.
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As we commemorate the feast day of St. Tarcisius, you are welcome to join us tomorrow, August 16, 5:00pm, at Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish, and we will have a Holy Eucharist and Procession.
Kindly wear your vestments.