O Lord, deliver us from all evil of body and soul.
Biography
Blaise of Sebaste (Greek: Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, Hágios Blásios; Armenian: Սուրբ Վլաս; Latin: Blasius martyred 316 AD) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Lesser Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr. He is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Blaise is a saint in the Catholic, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches and is the patron saint of wool combers and of sufferers from ENT illnesses. In the Latin Church, his feast falls on 3 February. In the Eastern Churches, it is on 11 February. According to the Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, tortured with iron combs, and beheaded. The first reference to Blaise is the medical writings of Aëtius Amidenus (c. AD 500) where his aid is invoked in treating patients with objects stuck in the throat. Marco Polo reported on the place where "Messer Saint Blaise obtained the glorious crown of martyrdom", Sebastea. The shrine near the citadel mount was mentioned by William of Rubruck in 1253, although the ruins are no longer visible. It is said from being a healer of bodily ailments, Saint Blaise was to become an expert on souls, then he retired for a time to a cavern where he remained in prayer. As bishop of Sebastea, Blaise instructed people as much by his example as by his words, and his great virtues and his sanctity were attested by many miracles. People were said to flock to him for cures of bodily and spiritual illnesses. He is said to have healed animals, who came to him on their own for his assistance, and in turn to have been helped by animals. In 316 the governor of Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia, Agricola, began a persecution of him by order of the Emperor Licinius, and Blaise was seized. After his interrogation and a severe scourging, he was imprisoned and subsequently beheaded. The legendary Acts of St Blaise were written 400 years after his death.
Prayers
Intercessory Prayer
intercessionSaint Blaise of Sebaste, patron of throat ailments, pray for those who seek your intercession. Lead us closer to Christ, our Lord. Amen.
— Original composition (intercessory formula)
Prayer to Saint Blaise
intercessionO glorious Saint Blaise, who with a short prayer didst restore to perfect safety a child at the point of death from a fish-bone fixed in its throat, grant that we may all feel the power of thy patronage in every malady of the throat, and may have the special grace to mortify the dangerous sense of taste by observing faithfully the precepts of the Church. Thou also, who in thy martyrdom hast left to the Church the testimony of a glorious faith, grant that we may keep this divine gift intact, and that in these times we may be enabled, by word and deed, without fear of man, to defend the truths of faith, so grievously obscured and attacked.
— The Raccolta, 1910 edition, p. 341 (no. 387)
Novena in Honor of Saint Blase
novenaPreparatory Prayer. Almighty and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the saint in whose honor I make this novena, and following his example imitate, like him, the life of Thy divine Son. Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through him I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen. Prayer in Honor of St. Blase. O God, deliver us through the intercession of Thy holy bishop and martyr Blase, from all evil of soul and body, especially from all ills of the throat; and grant us the grace to make a good confession in the confident hope of obtaining Thy pardon, and ever to praise with worthy lips Thy most holy name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Invocation of St. Blase. St. Blase, gracious benefactor of mankind and faithful servant of God, who for the love of our Saviour didst suffer so many tortures with patience and resignation; I invoke thy powerful intercession. Preserve me from all evils of soul and body. Because of thy great merits God endowed thee with the special grace to help those that suffer from ills of the throat; relieve and preserve me from them, so that I may always be able to fulfil my duties, and with the aid of God's grace perform good works. I invoke thy help as special physician of souls, that I may confess my sins sincerely in the holy sacrament of Penance and obtain their forgiveness. I recommend to thy merciful intercession also those who unfortunately concealed a sin in confession. Obtain for them the grace to accuse themselves sincerely and contritely of the sin they concealed, of the sacrilegious confessions and communions they made, and of all the sins they committed since then, so that they may receive pardon, the grace of God, and the remission of the eternal punishment. Amen. Concluding Prayer. My Lord and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena. Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.
— Mary, Help of Christians, and the Fourteen Saints Invoked as Holy Helpers (Bonaventure Hammer), 1909 edition, p. 221 (Novena in Honor of St. Blase)
Patronages
- sore throat(illness)
- throat ailments(illness)
- wool combers(occupation)
Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 (1) · Catholic Encyclopedia 1913; Wikipedia; universal (Blessing of Throats, Feb 3) (1) · Catholic Encyclopedia 1913; manner of his martyrdom (1). Wikipedia content used under CC BY-SA 4.0.