St. Terence

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare

St. Terence and companions were martyred under the reign of Decius in the third century at Carthage. They were thrown into a pit of serpents and stinging creatures and left to die from their wounds. Those who didn’t die from this were beheaded. We don’t know if Terence died from the wounds or was beheaded, but I suppose it doesn’t really matter.

Terence seems like just another run of the mill martyr. We don’t know much about his life, he was a Christian in a dangerous time, he was tortured and martyred. It’s hard not knowing more about him. He must have had great faith! Anyone who faces a cruel death and still hangs on to Christ must. It could’ve been so easy for him, just to denounce his faith and keep it private in his heart. But he didn’t take the easy way out, just like Jesus didn’t take the easy way out. The Agony in the Garden is cleansing, that’s where Jesus accepts his death, and God could’ve easily made that enough for our salvation. But to bring us into the fullness, to really conquer death and clear a path for us, Christ had to die, also.

Jesus spared himself no aspect of human life, and therefore, we are not spared, either. Our deaths may look different, but they all start with the death to self, like the Agony in the Garden. Terence accepted all of his deaths. He was probably bolstered by the community he was martyred with, as we see with saints like Felicity and Perpetua, and that shows the power of community. Any emo kid will tell you that life is better when you can commiserate together. I’m just a kid and life is a nightmare. But it’s our nightmare and we’ll get through it together.

St. Terence, pray for us!

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