September 2: St. Mamas

St. Mamas was born in the third century of Christian parents, Theodotus and Rufina, who died shortly after his premature birth.  He was adopted and raised as a Christian by a pious woman named Ammia.  She sent him to study grammar, as he was a very intelligent boy, and at the age of fifteen already succeeded in converting many of his schoolmates to Christ.  Because this was illegal under the emperor Democritus, the saint was brought to trial.  St. Mamas bravely underwent the interrogation and confessed not only his belief in Christ, but declared the pagan idol worship of the empire to be sheer foolishness.  Enraged, the emperor tried to have him drowned, but Mamas fled into the wilderness where he set up a hermitage for himself in seclusion, prayer and fasting.  Soon, the wild beasts began to present themselves and gather during his prayers.  Having no one else for company, Mamas read the Gospel to the wild goats and deer and they began to nourish him with their milk.  He gathered enough milk from the animals to make cheese for any poor visitors who came his way, and it didn’t take long for news of this unusual man to spread.  Soon, recognizing him to be the fugitive Christian, the emperor sent a group of soldiers to arrest him.  Mamas appeared so simple that the soldiers almost mistook him for a shepherd, but the saint invited them into his home, gave them some milk, and told them that he was indeed the man they were looking for, knowing full well the fate that surely awaited him.  He made such an impression on the soldiers that they hated to arrest him, and trusted him when he told them that they could go on ahead, and that he would follow them into the city.  They waited at the city gate for Mamas, and soon saw him approaching, accompanied by a lion.  Bravely, he submitted to the authorities and underwent martyrdom.  They threw him into a cage with wild beasts who soon befriended him. This enraged the pagan priest, who mortally wounded Mamas with this trident.  In a cave outside the city wall, Mamas gave his soul to God and was buried.  Many Christians who prayed for his intercession began to receive miraculous results.  St. Basil the Great mentions him in one of his great sermons: 

 "Remember the holy martyr, you who live here and have him as a helper. You who call on his name have been helped by him. Those in error he has guided into life. Those whom he has healed of infirmity, those whose children were dead he has restored to life, those whose life he has prolonged: let us all come together as one, and praise the martyr!"

At snack time today, let’s make a mug of St. Mamas Warm Vanilla Milk to remember his generosity toward his neighbors. A word of advice, though:  be sure to serve it just before nap time!

 Here’s how we make it: 

      For each serving, add the following to a pot on the stove:

       1 c milk, whatever your family prefers, whole, skim, soy, almond, etc.

        1Tbsp honey or maple syrup

         1 tsp vanilla extract

If you are lucky enough to be able to use a real vanilla pod, put ¼ - ½ of the pod, split, into the pot instead of the extract.  You can also add a dash of cinnamon, and some ground nutmeg.

Place over medium-high heat and bring to a scalding temperature, without boiling, stirring briskly with a wire whisk.  This makes it frothy!  Pour into your favorite mugs and top with the foam.  Add some nutmeg or some colored sugar sprinkles and enjoy!