I've got beef with Saint Euplus. In the early fourth century, he showed up outside the provincial governor's window and shouted, "I am a Christian! I am willing to die for being a Christian!" He had a copy of the Gospels tucked under his arm.
The Governor obligingly busted him. The book, of course, was burned, but Euplus got thrown in jail to think over his commitment to die. When the Governor called him back, he asked, "Do you have more scriptures?"
Euplus said he did. The Governor asked him where. He pointed to his heart.
Actually, I guess I have beef with both the Governor and Euplus. The Governor should have then ordered the saint's heart to be ripped out, but he didn't. He beheaded him.
But my bigger problem is with Euplus, who was in an all-fired hurry to be martyred. Dying for the faith is one thing, but rushing to your death is wasting the potential God gave you and failing to make the most of your opportunity to serve. Father John Bartunek has written that Euplus loved the Gospels. If so, he should have propagated them rather than rushing to have them destroyed.
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