Saints Timothy and Maura
Martyrs (
286 Anno Domini A.D.) Feast: 3 May
For nearly 2 millennia, the Church has celebrated the witness of married Saints made holy by their vocation. Some were married for decades, but Sts. Timothy & Maura show us the power of the sacrament condensed into only one month of marriage 
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Timothy was the son of a priest in 3rd Century A.D. Egypt . Raised in the Church 
he became a lector, which entailed far more than simply proclaiming the readings
. He read to the people of his village, preached the Gospel ,& kept the holy scriptures & liturgical books safe in his home during persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian 
In A.D. 286, Timothy married Maura , a pious 17 year old woman, & the two began a life of prayer 
& Christian witness together
Timothy & Maura had only been married for 20 days when Timothy was denounced as a Christian & a keeper of the holy books. His captors, on the authority of Diocletian himself, demanded that Timothy surrender the books of scripture to them. Timothy refused, insisting that the sacred books were like his spiritual children. Arian , the governor, was baffled by such an answer. "You see, don't you, the instruments prepared for torture?"
Timothy was unmoved: "But don't you see the angels of God 
which are strengthening me?" So the tortures began. Timothy had white-hot irons shoved in his ears 
. He was blinded & eyelids cut off 
He was hung upside down with a stone around his neck 
He would not budge. Then they learned about his sweet young wife. If they couldn't tempt him to deny Christ 
for his own sake, surely they could induce him to give in for Maura 's
Arian appealed to Maura 's hopes & dreams. After all, she'd only been married for 3 weeks. Didn't she want to live the life she'd been promised, to raise a family w/her husband & to grow old with him? All Timothy had to do was hand over the scriptures & he'd be set free to live in peace 
to a happy old age. Maura listened intently & asked to speak to her husband. When Maura was brought in to Timothy, she explained the governor's offer. Here accounts differ
Some say Maura stood firm in her faith throughout, saying, "But I, for my part, will never speak to you again if you deny Christ ." Others claim Maura was overcome by grief at seeing Timothy 's suffering & begged him to apostatize. Timothy was unmoved: "How is it possible, O Maura, that, being yourself a Christian , instead of animating me to die for the faith, you tempt me to abandon it; & thus, to obtain a short & miserable existence here ...."
"expose myself to the never-ending pains of hell? 
Is this, then, your love?" With that, they say, Maura was convicted & repented of her momentary weakness. Whether or not Maura remained faithful throughout, this much is certain: While looking on the body of her agonized husband, she confessed herself a Christian & found herself subject to torture as well. Her hair was pulled out 
her fingers cut off 
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When immersed in a pot of boiling water, though, Maura was unharmed. The governor was impressed by such a miracle but soon resumed his tortures (so cruel that even the bloodthirsty crowd was scandalized) by having the young couple nailed to 2 crosses facing each other For 10 days they prayed together sang hymns 
& encouraged each other as they suffered for Christ . When one was weak, the other would be strong ....
reminding the beloved of what Christ had suffered & of the promise of future life. Ultimately, both found themselves welcomed into the arms of Christ , glorious martyrs. The witness of their courage & joy so inspired their torturer that he soon became a Christian , was martyred himself, & is venerated in the Eastern Church 
as St. Arian of Alexandria
Though they were married for only a month, Timothy & Maura understood the purpose of marriage: to challenge & encourage each other thru both suffering & joy, as you follow Christ together. Because they were both believers, they were able to persist thru unimaginable pain, holding each other accountable & calling each other to holiness.
Thru their intercession, may God bless all Christian marriages, that spouses may rejoice in suffering together & encourage each other daily to live more fully for Christ . Sts. Timothy and Maura , pray for us!
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