St. Abraham

The Saint of the Day for March 16 is St. Abraham.

St. Abraham was born near the city of Edessa in the region of Mesopotamia of a wealthy family during the third century. After receiving an excellent education, Abraham was encouraged to get married. Following the wishes of his parents, he married but as soon as the ceremonies were over he told his bride of his wishes to remain a virgin and dedicate his life to God. His bride accepted this resolution and Abraham left her and retired to a hermitage near Edessa.

Ten years after he retreated from the world, his parents died and left a great amount of wealth to Abraham. As soon as he was aware of this, he asked a friend to distribute it to charitable causes. Through actions like this and his deep prayer life, Abraham became known throughout the region as a holy man and many came to him for guidance. His reputation even came to the ears of the bishop, and when Edessa became poisoned with sin and idolatry, Abraham was ordained and asked to go to the city preaching reform. Abraham was greatly distressed by this, but obeyed the wishes of the bishop.

When Abraham arrived in Edessa, none of the residents would listen to his words, but eventually Abraham converted them, not through his preaching, but through his constant prayer. After gaining success in converting the city, Abraham returned to his hermitage to continue his life of solitary prayer. Around the year 360 Abraham died after a life of faithful service to God.