Priest killed by ISIS

Prayers for the soul of Father Jacques Hamel, killed today in France by ISIS terrorists. At 84, Father gave his life to the Lord while offering the Sacrifice of the Mass in the Church of Saint Etienne. He becomes for us a martyr of the faith. Father was a priest of the Archdiocese of Rouen.

“The faith of the martyrs has been proved, and their blood is the witness to it. The martyrs have paid back what was spent for them, and they have fulfilled what Saint John says: Just as Christ laid down his life for us, so we too should lay down our lives for the brethren.”
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“How could the martyrs ever conquer, unless that one conquered in them who said Rejoice, since I have conquered the world? The emperor of the heavens was governing their minds and tongues, and through them overcoming the devil on earth and crowning the martyrs in heaven. O, how blessed are those who drank this cup thus! They have finished with suffering and have received honor instead.”

– St. Augustine’s Sermon 329 (Sermo 329, 1-2: PL 38, 1454-1455)