Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Today we remember ten Christian martyrs. The Saint Of The Day page says that their names appeared on old martyrologies, but that all knowledge of their lives and deaths has been lost. Their names are:

Antoninus

Diomedes

Eutychian

Hesychius

Julian

Leonides

Menalippus

Pantagapes

Philadelphus

Philip

These are in addition to the 191 other martyrs, killed during the French Revolution for refusing to take an oath to make the clergy accountable to the government. Collectively, they are called the Martyrs of Paris and the Martyrs of Carmes. They are named here.

I was never taught about these martyrs , or any other martyrs for that matter. When I was a young Christian I was vaguely aware that Stephen had been martyred and the other disciples. I knew that people had died for their faith throughout the ages, but nobody ever said these people died for this reason. It was all very vague.

I wish that new Christians could be taught that real people die, even today a lot of them die, for the sake of this gospel which refers to the whole of our oh-so important lives as a mist. Just a thing that will soon pass, and not of any real significance except that we give it away before it can be blown away.

If you've seen the ISIS videos you know that there is no white-robed glory to it. Not on this side of it anyway. Still, I think we should all keep ready.

_____

In personal news, I have managed to get a few days off this week. I am changing jobs and taking some vacation I had coming from my last job. It's that time of year, you know, when the language school teachers look for jobs in real schools. All the teachers who were at my language school when I got there have now either gone, or have resigned. It was a good gig, but those of us who can get better jobs will. The students were lovely when I left. I got some good presents and they all said things that made me feel good. I don't know if any of it is true, but it gives me something to aspire to.   In the new job I will still have a long commute, but not as complicated in terms of train changes. I will just get on the 12 and go. School is about a five minute walk from the station, and it's another ten minutes across campus. The International Department is almost an afterthought, behind the gymnasium. The hours are Monday through Friday 730 to 415. Weekends off. Three months holiday, only two paid. But, this being Shanghai, I can get work if I want it. No problem. Overall, not a bad package. I am not doing anything special on my days off, just trying to clear the decks for a new school year. Various parts of me have been waxed, colored, and cleaned. I cleaned out the closet and one cupboard which was getting cluttered. I still have to do some banking and buy a pair of shoes. I have explored some new areas. This afternoon I plan to go out to a thing in PuDong. The Chinese have built an Italian village out there, apparently. We'll see. It will be an adventure anyway, or at least an activity.

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