You're listening to the SSPX Podcast.

We're happy to present another installment of true heroes.

Stories of the lives of the saints delivered by Father Thomas Tam.

Father has also put together a video of each of these episodes.

You can see the video at SSPX Podcast.com.

Now here's Father Tam.

These saints before whom we are assembled, despised the world, and trampled it under their feet,

when peace, riches, and health gave it charms.

Pope Gregory the Great

Hello, my friends, and welcome to true heroes.

Today we will be discussing the lives of saints Nereus, Eccale, Darmatilla, and Pancratius, or Pancras.

The first three were martyred around the same time in the first century, while St.

Pancrasius was martyred later under the Emperor Diocletian. Let us begin their stories. Everything we know from authority

about the three first century martyrs comes from a testimony written by Pope St. Damos in

the 4th century and inscribed on a memorial tablet that commemorates their lives.

But even this commentary obviously comes about 300 years after they died.

St. Demasus tells us that Nereus and Achaelaus were soldiers in the Roman army,

where they helped carry out the persecution of Christians.

They probably had nothing against Christians and didn't care really for the bloody slaughter

they were commanded to perform, but they obeyed these cruel orders out of fear of dying

themselves.

If you were to disobey the orders of the emperor back then, it was not a good thing and did not result well for you.

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