St. Dolagy

OBJECTIVE

We have begun to think about family on a spiritual level and how God wants us to be part of His family. The goal of this lesson is to show that when a family is united in God on earth, they will encourage each other to be united in God in heaven, even to the point of martyrdom.

INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes

Last week we spoke about St. Mary and St. Joseph and how they were so humble and obedient to God because they trusted God and loved God.

Saints are people who have so much love for God because they spend so much time praying to God, reading the Bible, and participating in the sacraments. The more time we spend with God - in prayer or quiet time or reading the Bible or in church - the mightier we will become spiritually. Participating in the sacraments, especially repentance, confession and communion, also help make us spiritually mighty. The more we grow in God by spending time with Him and participating in the sacraments, the more we become saintlike.

There are some saints who love God so much that they can even sacrifice their own lives out of their great love for God. That is called martyrdom. Today we will learn about a very amazing martyr named St. Dolagy and her four sons who were martyred with her.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10

LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 Minutes

St. Dolagy was a woman who lived in the third century, during the reign of an evil emperor named Diocletian. Diocletian tortured and martyred many Christians. She had four sons - Soris, Horman, Abonoufa and Shenas. Their father passed away and St. Dolagy was left with much money, which she spent on the poor and the orphans. Mother Dolagy kept the words of the Bible very close to her heart and she showed love to everyone. She was a pillar of faith in the city of Esna where she lived.

The sons of St. Dolagy all worked in the fields as farmers. One day, when the Governor, named Arianus was coming to the city of Esna, the four sons of St. Dolagy greeted him. Arianus asked about their faith and they proclaimed that they were Christians. He ordered them to worship idols, but they refused and stated that they would rather be tortured or killed than worship false idols.

The people in the city heard what was happening and went and told St. Dolagy that her sons were being questioned by Arianus and were confessing the true God before him. St. Dolagy ran to the fields so that she could stand by her sons and strengthen them in their faith. She stood before Arianus and declared her faith in Christ. This encouraged her children and strengthened their faith.

Arianus was very angry when he saw the mother and her four children defy him and he ordered that all the Christians in the region be killed. St. Dolagy and her sons spent the entire day and night going throughout the city and strengthening people to keep the faith and not be afraid of martyrdom. They promised the people that they would have heavenly crowns if they kept the faith and did not fear death.

The next morning, Arianus tried to persuade St. Dolagy and her four sons to worship the idols so that they would not experience pain. St. Dolagy screamed that Jesus Christ was her Savior. When Arianus saw he could not persuade them to worship the idols, he ordered that they all be beheaded. St. Dolagy was not worried about dying because she knew that her soul would not die and that she would receive the crown of martyrdom with her beloved Christ. But she was worried that, if she was martyred first, maybe one of her sons would be afraid and deny Christ. She insisted that the soldiers martyr all of her sons before they martyred her and she was so strong that she endured for all of her sons to be martyred on her lap.

After she was assured that all of her children were with Christ, she accepted to be martyred, herself. She could not have done this if she did not have perfect faith in Christ and great love for God. Because of her strong faith, God gave her the ability to endure what would have been impossible for any mother to endure. Her feast day is celebrated on Bashans 6.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

Think about the way that St. Dolagy was an example to her whole family and to the whole city of Esna.
Think of one behavior you can focus on this week that would show all the people in your home and in your school that you stand for Christ. How can you be an example of faith to your friends and family? Think of one concrete way you can share your love for Christ with others this week.
How do faith and love intersect in the story of St Dolagy?
Encourage the children to memorize this quote by Mother Teresa (emphasize a catholic saint), who said "Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord." ― Mother Teresa

APPLICATION (Action) - 10 Minutes

As a mother, St. Dolagy's heart must have experienced death 5 times, four times as she watched her children be killed in front of her and a fifth time when it was her turn to die. She loved God so much that she was willing to endure this for Him.
We are not living in a time of martyrdom physically - no one threatens to kill us because we are Christians - so how can we show God how much we love Him?
- Is there something bad we do in our lives, like lying or sneaking or using bad words, that we could give up for God? If we give up something bad that we really love doing, this is a form of martyrdom.
- St. Antony was the first monk (Life of Antony §46). He was alive during the time of the great persecution by Diocletian and he desired to be a martyr, but that was not God's will for him. Instead, God chose him to teach the way of monasticism. He died to the world, not caring for money or marriage, and battling the devil through his humility. Some people call this "white" martyrdom because it is without blood. How can we experience the same type of "white" martyrdom? What types of prayer, fasting or struggle can we offer God?
- Is there something extra we can give to God to show Him how much we love Him - extra time in prayer, extra level of fasting, helping someone even when it's not convenient, giving more than usual to the poor?

RESOURCES

Display or print copies of the icon of St. Dolagy and her children in the attached Activity sheet.

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Encourage parents to read one saint story with their children every night. Saint stories can be found in in the Synaxarion online
Encourage parents to help their child create a prayer corner in the home with one or more icons. Encourage parents to commit to praying at least 2 times per day with their child and to have the child spend quiet time with God for a few minutes every week.
Encourage parents to teach children to form prayers related to faith and action. "Bless my actions to lift others up." or "May this action be for the greater good, out of my love for God and others." or "Teach me how to sacrifice for You and others.