Saints Cosmas and Damian: Free Hands, Pure Hearts

In a world that charged for every cure, two brothers dared to give healing away for free.

They were twins, Cosmas and Damian, born in Syria around the 3rd century. Both studied medicine, both became physicians.

Like other doctors of their time, they learned how to treat sickness, mend wounds, and ease pain. But unlike the rest, they never took a coin. Healing was gift, not trade. People began to call them Anargyroi, a Greek word that means “without silver.”

They healed the sick with skill, and they prayed as they worked. Body and soul together. Stories spread about them, stories that felt larger than life—like the one where they replaced a diseased leg with a new one from someone already dead. It is told as a legend, a miracle that medicine could not explain.

But the empire turned against Christians. The Roman emperor Diocletian, known for his brutal persecution of the Church, ordered them arrested. Chains, torture, threats—nothing could break them. The twins refused to give up their faith. So they were killed.

Still, their names lived on. Churches built, prayers whispered, doctors and pharmacists claiming them as patrons. Saints Cosmas and Damian—two brothers who proved healing could be more than science, more than silver.

ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Traces of courage, silence, and sacrifice—this is Saints.

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Passaparola & Prayer 092625 Fri

Friendship that welcomes others breaks barriers and gives glory to the Father.

Bring the Joy of Friendship

Jesus offered His trust, confidence and friendship to everyone, thereby breaking down, one by one, the barriers that human pride and selfishness had erected in the society of His time. Jesus was the visible sign of the love of the Father who fully accepts and welcomes each one of us. Consequently, we should love one another in the same way. This is, above all, the Father’s will for us. Therefore, we can give the Father no greater glory than by welcoming one another, in the same way that Jesus welcomed us.

Chiara Lubich
Word of Life • December 1992

✝️ Prayer to Bring the Joy of Friendship

Heavenly Father, You gave us Jesus as the friend of all. Forgive us when pride builds barriers among us. Thank You for showing us the joy of true friendship. Make us signs of Your love by welcoming others as Jesus welcomed us. Amen.

A prayer a day, keeps the soul from drifting away

ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ