St. Vincent of Saragossa - Patron of Winegrowers - January 22nd
St. Vincent was a Spanish deacon. Because he preached about God, he was put into prison and tortured without mercy.
First, he was tied to a red-hot iron and scourged with iron hooks. Then salt was rubbed into his open wounds. But while all this was going on, St. Vincent kept his eyes raised to Heaven in constant prayer. The courageous saint was next cast into prison without food or visitors.
Later the Christians were permitted to come to visit Vincent in jail and they took care of him. They kissed his wounds and took home clothes dipped in his blood as relics.
When St. Vincent died, the emperor ordered his body to be left for animals to destroy, but God protected it. Then the ruler had it tied to a heavy stone and thrown into the sea. But again God worked a miracle to honor St. Vincent. His body floated on top of the water and when the waves brought it ashore, the Christians buried it and built a large church over it.
Let us, too, learn to offer up our little sufferings bravely for the love of Jesus.
