Sample Essay: Biography Of Saint Dionysia

Lives of the Saints: Saint Dionysia

It is often a question among us on how to sacrifice, on how to give everything up, or perhaps to even lay down our lives for a noble cause. In pondering this, it is important to note that the lives that we encounter upon reading the accounts of saints in some ways hold invaluable lessons in life. Thus, here is a story of Saint Dionysia who at a young age has defied an empire in the name of the Christian faith.

Young Dionysia lived more or less two centuries after the ascension of Christ and very little is known of her earlier life. Nevertheless, what scholars agree upon is how her martyrdom took place. Persecution of Christians was at its height in the Roman Empire. In the city of Lampsacus, Asia Minor, three men were being tortured but one of the young men who can no longer tolerate the pain denounced his faith and was released. Dionysia rebuked him and said, “O wretched man! Why have you feared a little suffering and chosen eternal pain instead?” Upon saying this, Dionysia was seized and tortured but an angel came to save her. Nevertheless, Dionysia refused to come with the angel and asked to be taken to the martyrs who died and be killed along with them. Seeing her eagerness to die as a martyr, Dionysia was brought back to the place where the other martyrs died and was put to death by her oppressors (Butler 169-170).

What is truly remarkable in the martyrdom of Saint Dionysia is the fact that at such a young age, she already knew that a life of piety and sacrifice will eventually receive its rewards in the afterlife. Already given a chance to escape pain and suffering, Dionysia instead chose to die for Christ knowing that temporary suffering will be awarded with an eternal life. Thus, Saint Dionysia’s life and death is important to me since it provides the insight that all suffering in this world will surely come to an end while qualities such as patience, courage, and eagerness to sacrifice for a noble cause will in the end receive a gift far greater that anything else, that of a blessed eternal life. In a way, Saint Dionysia’s life and death reminds me that I may not be able to amount to her courage and faithfulness yet I certainly have the power to choose between a seldom traveled road that leads to salvation and a well traveled road that leads to demise. I do believe that a life such as the one lead by Saint Dionysia provide the right answer and through the wisdom offered by her story shall I do my best to follow her example.

Work Cited

Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints: With Reflections for Every Day in the Year. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008.