Saint of the day June 1: Saint Justin. Catholic Saints

Every June 1 the Church celebrates Saint Justinphilosopher, theologian and martyr, whom Pope Benedict XVI called “the most important among the Apologist Fathers of the 2nd century.”

Saint Justin, initially a pagan, dedicated his life to knowledge and the search for truth. Precisely in that effort he discovered faith and the need to account for it. He became an outstanding philosopher whose talent was put at the service of Christian doctrine.

Once converted to the cause of Christ, Justin dedicated himself to defending the truths revealed by God using the conceptual tools that reason provides us with. Persuaded by the Truth that comes from above, he committed himself to Christ to such an extent that he did not hesitate to give his life in martyrdom.

Seeker of truth, servant of Truth

Saint Justin was born around the year 100, in the ancient region of Shechem, in Samaria. His parents were pagans of Greek origin and gave him a privileged education in Philosophy and Letters, which allowed him, when the time came, to approach Christianity with depth and reverence.

One day, while he was meditating about God, a wise old man approached him and recommended that he study the Christian religion through Scripture, “because it is the only one that speaks about God properly and in a way that the soul is fully satisfied.” said.

At that time Justino was about 30 years old. Touched by the words of that wise man, from then on he dedicated himself to reading the Holy Scriptures, in which he found not only “a set of wonderful teachings”, but the Truth that he had searched with his heart, something that no other knowledge could. get over.

Later, Saint Justin founded a school in Rome, where he taught free of charge to those who wanted to learn about the new religion that was expanding throughout the empire. Justin considered revealed knowledge to be a true philosophy and source for learning the art of living righteously.

Having taught this luminous doctrine led to him being denounced and sentenced to death. Like so many other martyrs, he was given the opportunity to worship strange gods in exchange for respecting his life. Saint Justin did not accept such an unworthy offer and was executed. He died beheaded around the year 165 during the time of Marcus Aurelius, persecutor of the Church.

Defender of Christian faith and praxis

The term “apologist” or “apologist” is equivalent to “defender”; and it was precisely that role that Saint Justin assumed against those who rejected Christianity.

The saint wrote several texts, most of which have disappeared, but there are some that have survived to this day. Among these, the famous “Apologies” (defense of Christianity in two parts) stand out, written for the Emperor Titus Aurelius (Antoninus Pius), the members of the Senate and the main Roman authorities.

In them, Justin intends to make known the reasons why Christians should not be persecuted and in turn their customs should be respected.

Both the first and the second apology also offer details about the life and customs of Christians before the year 200, which is why they constitute an invaluable source that has made it possible for us today to understand and appreciate many of the characteristic features of the Church. primitive The Apologies enjoyed great diffusion and were widely known from Asia Minor to Rome.

In addition to the “Apologies”, the so-called “Dialogue with Tryphon” is also preserved. This text, also of an apologetic nature, focuses on the similarities and differences between Christianity and Judaism. Its purpose is to affirm that Jesus Christ represents the fullness of the Law and that, therefore, he must be recognized by the Jewish people as the expected Messiah.

To achieve this goal, Saint Justin constantly relies on Scripture, using the literary resource of dialogue (argumentative fiction), in which he argues with a rabbi named “Tryphon.”

Pope Benedict XVI noted regarding the works of the saint: “They illustrate above all the divine project of creation and salvation that is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Logos, the Word of God, in which every man participates, as a rational creature. His first Apology is an implacable criticism of the pagan religion and the myths of that time” (Benedict XVI, 2007).

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If you want to know more about the life and work of Saint Justin, we recommend the following article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Justino_Mártir.

More information in the next link.