(3rd century) Cecilia was born to a prominent family in Rome and consecrated her virginity to God before being arranged to marry a pagan, Valerian of Trastevere. She told her betrothed that her purity was guarded by an angel, and that he could see the angel if he was baptized. Valerian was baptized, converted his brother, and the two men were martyred for the crime of burying dead Christians. Authorities encouraged Cecilia to renounce her faith, and when she would not, they tried suffocating her with toxic gas. She sang rather than suffocating, so they tried beheading, which didn’t work, either. The Roman soldiers finally left her, barely alive, to die on her own three days later. Cecilia’s tomb was opened in 1599, and her body was found to be incorrupt, miraculously defying the laws of natural decomposition.
Saints—and martyrs in particular—have no reservations about giving God their all. Working a solid program in recovery requires acknowledging those difficult situations that might tempt us back to our addiction or unhealthy attachment. Have you addressed your potential reservations? What is your plan to avoid relapse should they occur?
“Arise, soldiers of Christ, throw away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Saint Cecilia).
Reflection by Brad Farmer