Maronite image of Saint Thecla, taken from Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church
Posted on 09/23/2009 8:48:10 PM PDT by Pyro7480
(The following is excerpted from the 23 September entry in Volume XIV of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation of Dom Prosper Guéranger's 'The Liturgical Year' by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.)
"While honouring the first successor of St. Peter [St. Linus], Rome commemorates the protomartyr of the female sex. Together with holy Church, then, let us unite in the concert of praise unanimously lavished upon [Saint] Thecla by the fathers of east and west. When the martyr pontiff Methodius [Saint Methodius of Olympus] gave his 'Banquet of virgins' to the Church, about the end of the third century, it is on the brow of the virgin of Iconium that he placed the fairest of crowns distributed at the banquet of the Spouse. And justly so; for had not Thecla been trained by [Saint] Paul, who had made her more learned in the Gospel than she was before in philosophy and every science? Heroism in her kept pace with knowledge; her magnanimity of purpose was equaled by her courage; while, strong in the virginal purity of her soul and body, she triumphed over fire, wild beasts, and sea monsters, and won the glory of a triple martyrdom."
"A fresh triumph is hers at the mysterious banquet. Wisdom has taken possession of her, and, like a divine harp, makes music in her soul, which is echoed on her lips in words of wondrous eloquence and sublime poetry. When the feast is over, and the virgins rise to give thanks to the Lord, Thecla leads the chorus, singing: 'For thee, O Bridegroom, I keep myself pure; and with burning lamp I come to meet thee.'"
"'I have fled from the bitter pleasures of mortals, and luxurious delights of life and its love; under Thy life-giving arms I desire to be protected, and to gaze for ever on Thy beauty, O blessed One.'"
"'For Thee, O Bridegroom, I keep myself pure; and with burning lamp I come to meet thee.'"
"'I have contemned union with mortal man; I have left my golden home for Thee, O King; I have come in undefiled robes, that I may enter with Thee into Thy happy bridal chamber.'"
"'For Thee, O Bridegroom, I keep myself pure; and with burning lamp I come to meet thee.'"
"'Having escaped the enchanting wiles of the serpent, and triumphed over the flaming fire and the attacks of wild beasts, I await Thee from heaven.'"
"'For Thee, O Bridegroom, I keep myself pure; and with burning lamp I come to meet thee.'"
"'Through love of Thee, O Word, I have forgotten the land of my birth; I have forgotten the virgins my companions, and even the desire of mother and of kindred; for Thou, O Christ, art all things to me.'"
"'For Thee, O Bridegroom, I keep myself pure; and with burning lamp I come to meet thee.'"
"PRAYER: Grant, we beseech [T]hee, almighty God, that we, who celebrate the festival of blessed Thecla, [T]hy virgin and martyr, may rejoice in her annual solemnity, and make progress by the example of such great faith. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."
Catholic ping!
Ping!
She’s venerated as a Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles by the Eastern Church.
I just recently heard about her. In the my missal, in the prayers for the dying or prayer for those in their last agony, she is one of the many saints invoked. I didn’t know who she was so I felt compelled to look her up.
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O Lord Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice: O my Bridegroom, Thee I love; and seeking Thee, I now contest, and with Thy baptism am crucified and buried. I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign with Thee; for Thy sake I die, that I may live in Thee: accept me offered out of longing to Thee as a spotless sacrifice. Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since Thou art great in mercy.
Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
O glorious virgin, thou wast entrusted with an apostolate, while shining brightly with virginal beauty and adorned with crowns of martyrdom. And, O Thecla, thou also didst subdue the bull's fury and change the fire to dew by thine entreaties, O first contestant among all womankind.
Synaxarion
This saint was from the city of Iconium. When she was eighteen years of age, she was instructed in the Faith of Christ and the hope of the resurrection by the Apostle Paul, whom also she followed, forsaking her betrothed and espousing a life of virginity for the sake of the Heavenly Bridegroom. Having preached Christ in various cities and suffered many things, she reposed in Seleucia of Cilicia at the age of 90.
St. Thecla?!! What the heck kind of name is that? My parents had a habit of naming their many children after the saints on whose day they were born, so I’m just glad I wasn’t born on her feast day.
It must be an old Greek name, if she came from Iconium.
Saint Thecla or Tecla (or Taqla) was in the news recently.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8581822
Pope: Scientific analysis done on St. Paul’s bones
On Saturday, the Vatican newspaper announced that a round fresco edged in gold featuring the emaciated face of St. Paul had been discovered in excavations of the tombs of St. Tecla in Rome. It was believed to have been dated from the end of the fourth century, making it the oldest known icon of St. Paul, meaning it was an image designed for prayer, not just art, L’Osservatore Romano said.
See #9
I had heard of St. Thecla in a History Channel show on non-Canonical works which some considered authoritative but which are not in the Canon. Apparently there was a book about the works of Paul and Thecla, concentrating on Thecla. Most of the incidents seem to be about her insisting on remaining a virgin, and refusing to marry and promoting this as the preferred life for women. It was hinted that the early fathers were male chauvinists. It is likely that the opposition to marriage had something to do with it.
Scholars of the time suspected the work because it seemed to have been authored after her life ended a couple of centuries ago not so much because she was insisting on chastity. But - there was a movement at that time - later on sort of re-invented by the Shakers that insisted on all people becoming chaste and if that meant the world did not repopulate so much the better so this may have tainted this work.
There were a number of admired works written after the first century, but none of them made it into the Canon.
Which missal? I couldn’t find it in my Angelus Press one.
"...And as Thou deliveredst that blessed Virgin and Martyr Saint Thecla from the three most cruel torments: so vouchsafe to deliver the soul of this Thy servant, and bring it to the participation of Thy heavenly joys..."
Because they were written after the fact. They became a cannon for study but not for the basis of the faith which was the works linked to the Apostles themselves. That is why I treasure the early Church - because it acted so logically in such a way. They did not fall for popular movements, etc.
Ah, I must have missed it. I was working for her in the included Litany of the Saints.
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