Long, long ago, in a faraway land, there lived a girl named Barbara.
Barbara was very beautiful, and her father, whose name was Dioscorus, loved her in his own way. But her father did not know the true God. He prayed to idols — statues made of wood and stone — and he did not want Barbara to learn about anything else.
Barbara's father was so worried that someone might take his daughter away that he did something very strange. He built a tall, tall tower, and he placed Barbara inside it. From the top of the tower, Barbara could look out at the whole world — but she could not go down and join it.
So that is where Barbara lived, high up in her tower, all alone.
But Barbara was not lonely, because she had so much to look at and so much to wonder about.
From her window she could see the green hills rolling far away. She could see the silver rivers winding through the valleys. She could see the meadows scattered with flowers, like a blanket of every color. And at night she could see the great sky filled with thousands of twinkling stars.
Barbara would gaze at all this beauty, and she would think and think.
"Who made all of this?" she wondered. "Not my father's idols — they cannot even move! Statues of wood and stone could never make the sun, or the stars, or the rivers, or the flowers. There must be One true God, far greater and wiser, who made the whole world. Oh, how I wish I could know Him!"
And little by little, in her heart, Barbara began to love the God she could not yet see.
One day, Barbara's father went away on a long journey. Before he left, he told the builders to make him a beautiful new bathhouse, with two windows in the wall.
While her father was away, Barbara came to watch the builders work. And she had an idea.
"Please," she said kindly, "do not make two windows. Make three."
The builders were surprised. "But your father said two," they replied.
"Three windows," said Barbara, with a happy smile. "Three windows to let in the light — one for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. For now I know that the true God is Three, and yet One. He is the Holy Trinity."
For while her father had been gone, a kind teacher had come and told Barbara all about the Lord Jesus Christ, and Barbara had been baptized. Now she was a Christian, and her heart was full of joy. She traced the sign of the Cross on the wall with her finger — and the Cross was carved deep into the stone, as if cut by iron!
When Barbara's father came home and saw the three windows, he frowned.
"Why are there three windows?" he demanded. "I said two!"
So Barbara told him the truth, gently and bravely. "Father, there are three windows because of the Holy Trinity — the one true God, who made heaven and earth. I have come to know Him, Father. I love Jesus Christ. I cannot pray to idols of wood and stone anymore, for they are not gods at all."
When her father heard this, he became terribly angry. He could not believe his own daughter would turn away from his idols. He shouted, and he raged, and Barbara had to run away from him.
She ran out of the house and up into the hills. And there a wonderful thing happened: a great rock opened up before her, like a door, and hid her safely inside, away from her father's anger.
But Barbara's father searched and searched until he found her. He was so angry that he handed her over to a cruel ruler, who tried to make Barbara stop loving Jesus.
"Give up this Jesus," they told her. "Pray to our idols instead, and you will be safe."
But brave Barbara shook her head. "I will never give up my Lord," she said. "Jesus is the true God, and I love Him. I am not afraid."
They tried to frighten her and they hurt her, but Barbara would not change her mind. And in the night, when she was tired and aching, something beautiful happened: the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to Barbara, shining with light. He comforted her and healed her, and He told her not to be afraid, for she would soon be with Him forever in heaven.
Barbara was filled with such joy and peace that she was not afraid of anything anymore.
There was a woman in the crowd named Juliana, who saw how brave Barbara was. Juliana loved Jesus too, and she was not afraid to say so out loud. So Juliana stood beside Barbara, and the two of them became friends and held on to their faith together, right to the very end.
At last, Barbara and Juliana gave their lives for the Lord they loved so much. And in that very moment, their souls flew up to heaven, like two birds set free, into the arms of Jesus — where there is no more sadness, and no more pain, but only joy and light forever and ever.
Barbara was only a young woman. But she loved God so faithfully, and she was so brave, that the Church gave her a special name. We call her Saint Barbara the Great Martyr — because she was great in her love, and a martyr is someone who loves Jesus so much that they stay faithful to Him no matter what.
Today, all around the world, people remember Saint Barbara every year, on the fourth day of December. They light candles, and they sing songs in her honor, and they ask her to pray for them.
And when we remember Saint Barbara, we remember her three little windows. Because every time we make the sign of the Cross, or say a prayer, we remember the same thing she did, high up in her tower so long ago: that God is the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — One God, who made the green hills and the silver rivers and the twinkling stars, and who loves each one of us more than we could ever imagine.
Saint Barbara found Him just by looking out her window and wondering. And we can find Him too, in the beautiful world all around us — and in our prayers, and in our church, and in our hearts.
Holy Great Martyr Barbara, pray to God for us!
Saint Barbara lived about seventeen hundred years ago and is honored as one of the Great Martyrs of the Church. She is remembered each year on December 4th. Because she loved the Holy Trinity, she is often pictured holding a little tower with three windows.