(d.c.316) Blaise was a Greek physician who became bishop of Sebaste, Armenia, in modern-day Turkey. He was known for his holiness and prayer, as well as for healing men and animals. He was arrested during the persecution of Christians by the local governor and healed a boy choking on a fish bone while in captivity, leading to his patronage of throat-related ailments. According to one legend, he was thrown into a lake to drown, but stood on the water and invited his persecutors to do the same by the power of their gods. He was scourged and beheaded. Saint Blaise is counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saints who were invoked with confidence during the Black Plague in the fourteenth century because of their proven intercessory power.
Invoking the prayers of the saints should be rooted in relationship—rooted in the communion of saints through union in the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. How do you find strength through fellowship?
“Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen” (The Blessing of Saint Blaise).
Reflection by Brad Farmer