Sep 28 – Memorial for St. Wenceslaus, martyr; Memorial for St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs
St. Wenceslaus (907-929) was the son of Vratislav I, Duke of Bohemia, whose family had been converted by St. Cyril and St. Methodius, and Drahomira, daughter of a pagan chief, who was baptised on her wedding day but apparently never seriously took to the faith. He was the grandson and student of St. Ludmilla.
When his father was killed during a pagan backlash against Christianity, Wenceslaus ascended to power as the Duke of Bohemia and fought the pagans with prayer and patience. He was murdered by his brother, Boleslaus, at the door of a church. Though he was killed for political reasons, he is normally listed as a martyr since the politics arose from his faith. Miracles have been reported at his tomb, and he is the subject of the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas.
- Patron Saint Index
St. Laurence Ruiz (1600–1637) had a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, both of whom were Christians. He learned Chinese and Tagalog from them, Spanish from the Dominicans whom he served as altar boy and sacristan. He was a professional calligrapher and documents transcriptionist. He was a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. He was a married layman, and the father of two sons and a daughter.
For unknown reasons, Laurence was accused of murder. He sought asylum on board ship with three Dominican priests, St. Antonio Gonzalez, St. Guillermo Courtet, and St. Mguel de Aozaraza, a Japanese priest, St. Vincente Showozuka de la Cruz, and a layman St. Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper. Only when they were at sea did he learn that they were going to Japan during a time of intense Christian persecution.
Laurence could have gone to Formosa (modern Taiwan), but feared the Spaniards there would hang him, and so stayed with the missionaries as they landed at Okinawa. The group was soon exposed as Christian, arrested, and taken to Nagasaki. They were tortured in several ways for days. Laurence and the Japanese priest broke at one point, and were ready to renounce their faith in exchange for release, but after their moment of crisis, they reclaimed their faith and defied their tormentors. He was the first canonised Filipino martyr.
- Patron Saint Index
Hag 1:1-8
Lk 9:7-9
“The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a purse riddled with holes.“
I once had a colleague joke with me when he heard the above verse that inflation was real, even in Jesus’s time. He felt that the ‘holes’ could be a metaphor for the effects of inflation. It got me thinking about how I could apply this to my spiritual life because very often, sin acts as the ‘bug’ which gnaws away at my effort to be a good Christian.
The prophet Haggai had to remind the people that it was time to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. In some senses, I see the parallel with the developments in the modern world. Most individuals willingly spend their money on upgrading their material possessions, e.g. property, vehicles and electronic gadgets. Yet, the fundraising efforts of committees to restore churches often proceed at a slow pace due to the lack of funds. The contrast between the willingness to contribute in both situations could be due to the priority we tend to put on our own personal projects.
Perhaps it is the shortsightedness of man who only remembers God when in poverty and misery, and not in prosperity.
Brothers and sisters, each of us is facing struggles in various aspects of our lives. It may be good for us to pause and ask Jesus to be our guide, rather than work with our own strength. Prayer provides peace in our hearts which allows us clarity of mind to handle the issues before us. In doing so, our actions bring glory to God.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Jesus, let us always remember that you are always there for us amidst the challenges in our lives.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who show us how to bear with pain gracefully.
OXYGEN 
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