St Genesius: More than Acting

Today we read about an actor named St Genesius in the book In Caelo et in Terra. He was not a Christian for most of his life. So how could he be a saint?

He was an actor, and he was part of a troupe in Rome that produced plays making fun of Christians. During one performance, when Genesius was supposed to be mocking the profession of faith, he found himself actually MEANING it. When it came time in the play for him to be martyred, he confronted the emperor and publicly ridiculed him for his treatment of the Christians. 

For which he was summarily martyred in reality. Thus, making him a Christian for a VERY short time, and a saint. You can read more about him here. 

I have a friend who has told me for years that he is willing to die for Jesus. One day I asked him if he was just as willing to live for Him? This rocked him back on his heels. It's one thing to be willing to die for Jesus, but the day to day living out our faith in a world that doesn't usually understand what we're doing can be just as daunting as facing martyrdom... that's why St Therese of Lisieux referred to the daily "dying to yourself" as a form of martyrdom.

God, thanks for teaching us through such an unlikely hero. St Genesius, pray for us.