Eulalia's Passion for Martyrdom
Illustration★★★Eulalia was the daughter of a Christian farmer near Barcelona, She was possessed by the spirit of the times, which coveted martyrdom. When she heard that the persecutions were renewed, she cried: ‘Thanks do I render thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and glory to thy holy name; for now I behold that which I have desired, and believe that with thy help all my desire shall be accomplished.”
The next night a frail young gir! presented herself before the persecutor, defying him and his gods. He ordered her to be whipped, thinking that her ardor would cool, under the suffering. She rejoiced while the lash lacerated her tender flesh, She was stretched upon the little horse, and her sides were torn with hooks and burned with torches. In great agony, but still resolute, she prayed, “Lord Jesus Christ hear my prayer, perfect thy work in me and bid me be MARTY Rs. numbered among thine elect in the rest of life eternal.”
Immediately her sou! sped to the paradise of God as a dove to its nest. It was ordered that her body should hang upon the rack to be devoured by the birds, A. D, 303.
The point
The young Christian martyr Eulalia of Barcelona welcomed persecution and torture with joy, praying for faithfulness even as she was tortured to death — illustrating fervent devotion to Christ unto death.