St. Justina

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is for the second graders to know the story of Saint Justina and Saint Cyprian. Also, for the second graders to apply the power of prayer in their lives like Saint Justina and to know that this is one of the saints with God's Shield.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 2 Minutes

Memory Verse
"But You, O Lord, are my protector, my glory and the One who lifts up my head." Psalm 3:4

LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 Minutes

In the third century, about two hundred years after the Resurrection, a young girl named Justina was walking through the market in the city of Antioch. Justina heard a deacon of the church speaking about God. Justina had never heard about this God before. She was amazed to hear that He is the One True God and that He is Love. Her heart was filled with wonder to hear about Jesus Christ, and wanted to know more about Him and His church. Saint Justina loved Jesus Christ, her Saviour, and was baptized in the church.

St. Justina worked very hard to be a light for Christ in everything she did. She understood that because God loves everyone, she, too, must also love everyone. She treated all she met with kindness and gentleness. Christ's love filled her with joy and she showed that joy in all she did. Through the bright example that she set before her parents, her mom and dad also believed and changed their lives to be good Christians.

As St. Justina grew older, she became even more lovely and beautiful as the Holy Spirit worked in her. Her life was filled with prayers and service, always striving to please her Lord Jesus Christ. She loved reading her Bible, praying from the Book of Hours, and serving in the church. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life in service to her God and her church and wanted to be a nun.

Aglaides, a wealthy young man, saw St. Justina as she was walking home from church. He was impressed with her beauty and grace and wanted her to be his wife. Aglaides went to St Justina's father for permission to have her hand in marriage. When St. Justina's father asked what she thought, she told her father that her greatest wish was to give her life fully to her Lord and Savior by becoming a nun. Aglaides left her home disappointed after being told St Justina would not marry.

He went to a man named Cyprian who was famous for being a dark magician in their city. Aglaides asked Cyprian to make St. Justina fall in love with him. Cyprian asked the demons to help him trick St. Justina into marrying Aglaides. The terrible demons agreed. However, every time the demons went near St. Justina, she was shielded by the sign of the cross and her prayers. When St Justina made the sign of the cross over herself in prayer, a mighty shield surrounded her and created a barrier of protection around her. Again and again, they tried and failed to find weakness in the shield of the cross around St Justina. The power of her faith and the cross guarded her heart and mind with Christ's mighty protection.

Cyprian began to doubt the strength of his evil friends. When Cyprian failed, he called the demons and told them, "If you do not bring Justina to me, I shall adopt Christianity." The chief of the demons thought of a plan to deceive him. He ordered one of the demons to disguise himself and to take the form of Justina and then go to Cyprian. When Satan, disguised as Justina, came to him, Cyprian rejoiced, and rose up to embrace her. Because of his great joy in her, he told her, "Welcome, Queen of Women, Justina." Upon the mere mention of her name, Satan, disguised as her, melted away and disappeared like smoke, and an unpleasant smell spread out of him. Cyprian knew that this was a deceitful trick of Satan who could not stand before the mentioning of her name.

Cyprian was convinced that the God that St. Justina worships must be the most powerful and One True God. There was a priest named Fr. Eusebius that Cyprian had known as a child. Fr. Eusebius didn't trust Cyprian right away because he was very well-known in the city for being a sorcerer and leading people down dark paths. But Cyprian truly wanted to change and become a Christian. In order to prove that he was serious about leaving the devil, he burned all of his books of sorcery and black magic. With the help of Fr. Eusebius, Cyprian entered the class for catechumens, a group of people who want to learn about the faith in order to be baptized. Cyprian became baptized in the church and eventually ordained a deacon.

Aglaides, the wealthy young man, also believed in the One True God and was baptized because of the wonderful things that happened through St. Justina's faith and prayers. St. Justina was amazed at God's mercy and love for all His children. She became a nun in the nunnery of Cartagena. Both Cyprian and St. Justina gave their lives fully to their Lord and Savior and worked hard to be perfect in His way. Eventually, St. Cyprian was ordained a bishop and St. Justina was chosen to be the head of the nunnery.

Although many people in Antioch were Christian and loved God with all their heart, some peo- ple were still fooled by the devil. Emperor Diocletian was one of those people who only had hate in their hearts. He did terrible evils against the Christian people, this is called persecution. When the persecution against the Christians began, Emperor Diocletian first targeted the leaders of the Christian people. He thought that if the leaders of the Christians were gone that the people of the church would turn away from God.

St. Justina and St. Cyprian did not lose their faith because of the sufferings of persecution. They knew that God was still with them.St. Justina and St. Cyprian were both martyred on the same day.

Martyrdom is to be killed because of their faith. God rewarded St Justina and St Cyprian with the crowns of martyrdom in Heaven.

We celebrate these two great saints every year on the 21st day of Tout in the Coptic calendar or October 1st. May their prayers be with us always. Amen.

DISCUSSION - 5 Minutes

What are some shields of faith that help us when we are attacked by struggles or bad thoughts?

Prayer - Especially the Jesus Prayer
Memory verses

God gave us a gift of open communication with Him through prayer, let's practice being open with Him in prayer to make our faith stronger.

Discuss how prayer protected Saint Justina like a shield.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Option 1: Shields of Faith (See printable Activity below)

Materials:

Coloring page
Crayons or markers
Scissors
Paper plates
Tape or glue
Construction paper

Instructions:

Have the children color the shield and write the memory verse, Saint Justina's name, and their own names. Afterwards, have the second graders cut it out and glue it on a paper plate. Tape a strip of construction paper to the other side of the paper plate to create a handle for the shield.

Option 2: Faith Ball Game

Give every child a paper plate shield. (A paper plate with a handle made of masking/duct tape on the back.) Have them all line up along the wall. Gently toss crumpled balls of paper at the children. (Not towards their heads, of course.) The kids have to use their shields to block the "arrows" flying toward them. Once they are hit, they are out. They can help throw things, if you want. Play until everyone is out. Once the game is over, have them all sit down on the floor for the lesson. They can hold on to the shields. They will use them later, so they can't tear them up

RESOURCES

See Supporting Lesson: The Shield of Faith

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Have your second grader tell you the story of Saint Justina and her shield. Encourage your second graders to ask for Saint Justina's intercession.

Homework: Pass out 2-3 small shields with space inside to write a verse. Ask them to fill this out and put it in their room for the verse to help as a shield in time of trouble. One verse can be about patience, another about hope in God, etc... Parents can help the children to find these verses, and select what the children may need especially in their spiritual life.