The son of a landowner in 1556 England, Alexander Briant was raised Protestant. He studied at Oxford and then went on to continue his studies in France. While there, he converted to the Catholic faith and was ordained as a priest. He returned to England, where being a Catholic priest was a crime, and spent two years providing the sacraments to Catholics in secret. At the age of 25, he was caught by priest hunters and arrested, tortured in the Tower of London, then along with Sts. Ralph Sherwin and Edmund Campion he was martyred by disembowelment, drawing, and quartering.
CHALLENGE
While in prison, St. Alexander Briant made a small wooden cross and while being tortured he held it tightly and meditated on Christ’s passion. When it was forced out of his hand, he said, “You can take it out of my hands but not out of my heart.” Today, carry a small cross in your hand all day and think of Christ’s passion whenever you can.
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