Page:HalfHoursWithTheSaints.djvu/67



Father Spinola, Pere  Nouet,  and St. Ambrose.

" My  son,  in  thy  sickness  forget  not  thyself,  but  pray  to  the  Lord,  and  He  shall heal  thee." — Eccles. xxxviii. 9.

[Father Spinola,  saint  and  martyr,  was  one  of  the  band  of  missionaries who  suffered  martyrdom  in  Japan  on  the  2d  of  September  1622. Urban VIII. placed these  martyrs  on  the  list  of  Saints,  and  our  Holy Mother the  Church  celebrates  their  triumph  on  February  5.

Father Spinola,  a  noble  Genoese,  entered  the  order  of  the  Society  of Jesus  at  Nole  at  the  time  when  his  uncle,  Cardinal  Spinola,  was  Bishop of that  diocese. So ardent  was  his  desire  to  shed  his  blood  for  the  faith of his  Divine  Master,  that  he  entreated  to  be  allowed  to  join  the  band of missionaries  who  were  ready  to  go  to  Japan. To his  joy,  his  request was granted,  and  he,  in  company  with  Jesuits,  Dominicans,  and  Franciscans, reached  Japan  in  1602.

They, with  an  indefatigable  zeal,  worked  for  the  salvation  of  souls and converted  a  large  number  of  heathens. The Japanese  authorities sent Father  Spinola  and  others  to  a  miserable  dungeon,  and  it  was during his  incarceration,  that  Father  Spinola  managed  to  send  the following letter  to  one  of  his  relatives  in  Europe.

In the  year  1622  the  saintly  Father  was  condemned  to  be  burned alive. When the  cords  which  attached  his  poor  weak  frame  to  the stake, were  consumed,  he  fell  on  the  burning  embers,  and  his  soul,  now free from  its  prison-house  of  flesh,  flew  up  to  heaven  surrounded  by the  flames  of  divine  love.

How sweet  to  suffer  for  Jesus  Christ! I cannot  find words energetic  enough  to  tell  you  what  I  feel,  more  especially since  I  have  been  confined  in  prison,  where  we  are