Page:Ritual of the Order eastern star (1921).djvu/67

Rh heroic endurance of the wrongs of persecution, when demanded in defense of Truth, as illustrated in the lesson of Electa.

Electa. The second epistle of John is addressed to "the elect lady and her children." Tradition delineates her as a lady who lived in the days of St. John the Evangelist. Her charity, benevolence and generous hospitality to the poor entitled her to great distinction.

Having been reared a Pagan and afterwards becoming a convert to the Christian religion, she was subjected to severe trials and the most bitter persecution. An edict was issued by the Roman emperor that all followers of the Christ should renounce their faith under penalty of death. She was visited by a band of soldiers, one of whom handed her the cross, with a command to trample it under foot. Electa, looking him steadily in the face, received the cross—precious emblem of her Saviour's death—pressed it with ardor to her bosom and cast her eyes upward as a testimony of her love and loyalty to her Christian faith. As Electa I represent this historical heroine and commend to you the sublime virtue she exemplified through her life, "that we love one