Today the Church honors St. Phocus the Gardener, Martyr.
Ora pro nobis.
Saint Phokas came from Sinope, a city on the Black Sea. He was a poor man, and his only possession was a garden, which he cultivated with great diligence. In order to use his crops to feed the poor and aided persecuted Christians, he willingly embraced a life of austerity. His income from the garden was very small. But since he was a good steward and frugal in his needs, he would always have something for the poor. Saint Phokas studied the Holy Scriptures with pleasure. He even told those who saw him studying that our soul is also a garden, which requires care, so that it does not produce thorns and thistles. The gardener Phokas also desired that everyone's souls should become spiritual gardens. So wherever he could, he contributed to their purification and cultivation. While he was selling vegetables and fruits, he spoke words of great spiritual profit at the same time. Not only did he benefit Christians, but he also converted many pagans.
During the persecutions of Diocletian (AD 244-311), though he was widely known as a man of good deeds and who helped the poor out of his own poverty, Phokas was denounced as a Christian and the rulers of the city sent soldiers to arrest him. The Saint's home was near the castle gate which guarded the port, and he was known to welcome travelers and the needy, and so he often had many visitors. So, when the soldiers came seeking a place to stay the night, he welcomed them as guests. After some time had passed, he asked them the purpose of their visit. Obliged by his hospitality they disclosed their secret, that they were seeking the Christian Phokas in order to behead him. They even told him that he would be doing them a great favor if he would help them.
Unperturbed, while the soldiers slept, Saint Phokas made arrangements for all his possessions to be distributed to the poor after his death, came out of his house during the night to dig and prepare his own grave, and the next day he told the soldiers who he was. They were astonished and ashamed, because they had been received by Saint Phokas with so much love that they did not want to kill him. The Saint understood their difficulty and told them not to hesitate, but to carry out their orders since it was not they who would be responsible for his murder, but rather those who sent them. By speaking in this way he persuaded the soldiers to behead him. He was beheading on this day in AD 303.
An accurate account of the Martyr’s death was written by Asterios, bishop of Amasea (c. AD 350 – c. 410). He is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Almighty God, who gave to your servant Phocus boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
