In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us hear from the account of the martyrdom of St. Polycarp:
The church of God that sojourns at Smyrna to the church of God that sojourns at Philomelium, and to all those of the holy and catholic Church who sojourn in every place: may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 We write you, brethren, the things concerning those who suffered martyrdom, especially the blessed Polycarp, who put an end to the persecution by sealing it, so to speak, through his own witness. For almost everything that led up to it happened in order that the Lord might show once again a martyrdom conformable to the gospel. The Passion of Christ is the pattern of that of his martyrs. 2For he waited to be betrayed, just as the Lord did, to the end that we also might be imitators of him, "not looking only to that which concerns ourselves, but also to that which concerns our neighbors.” For it is a mark of true and steadfast love for one not only to desire to be saved oneself, but all the brethren also.
