St. Sophia and her daughters Faith, Hope and Love

On September 17 the church commemorates the feast of St. Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope and Love. The legend says the St. Sophia was a widow with three daughters living in Rome in the time of Emperor Hadrian. Faith was twelve, Hope was ten, and Love was nine. St. Sophia raised them in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. St Sophia and her daughters did not hide their faith in Christ, but openly confessed it before everyone. An official named Antiochus denounced them to the emperor Hadrian (117-138), who ordered that they be brought to Rome. When the holy virgins and their mother came before the emperor, everyone present was amazed at their composure. They looked as though they had been brought to some happy festival, rather than to torture. Summoning each of the sisters in turn, Hadrian urged them to offer sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. The young girls remained unyielding. Then the emperor ordered them to be tortured. St. Sophia was forced to watch the suffering of her daughters. She displayed adamant courage, and urged her daughters to endure their torments. In order to intensify St. Sophia's inner suffering, the emperor permitted her to take the bodies of her daughters. She drove beyond the city limits and reverently buried them on a high hill. St. Sophia sat there by the graves of her daughters for three days, and finally she gave up her soul to the Lord. Even though she did not suffer for Christ in the flesh, she was not deprived of a martyr's crown. Instead, she suffered in her heart. Believers buried her body there beside her daughters. The relics of the holy martyrs have rested at Alsace, France, since the year 777.