St. Wencelaus - Sept. 28th

 

 Today is the feast of St. Wenceslaus. Born near Prague, he was the son of Duke Wratislaw. His grandmother, also a saint, St. Ludmilla taught him Christianity and once he learned Christianity, he always kept his eyes on heaven, never looking back. An anti-Christian faction murdered the Duke, his father, which resulted in his grandmother taking over the government.

In 922, Wenceslaus was declared as the new ruler due to a coup. As the new ruler, he encouraged Christianity. By the grace of God he was a man of utmost faith. He was charitable to the poor, by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and giving hospitality to travelers. He wouldn’t allow widows to be treated unjustly and he loved all people, rich and poor alike.

Wenceslaus’ brother, Boleslaus, lost his heir to the throne, when Wenceslaus’ son was born. This caused Boleslaus to join a group of Czech dissenters. The dissenters lied to Boleslaus stating that his brother, Wenceslaus was conspiring to kill him.

On Sunday, on the feast of the dedication of churches, after attending Mass, he had planned to return to Prague. But his brother detained him. The next morning, when the church bells rang for Morning Prayer Wenceslaus said, “Praise to you, Lord; you have allowed me to live to this morning.” And so he rose and went to prayer. His brother followed him to the church door and said, “You were a good subject to me yesterday.” Boleslaus struck his brother’s head with his sword. Wenceslaus said to his brother, “What are you trying to do?” Wenceslaus seized his brother and threw him to the ground. One of the dissenters ran up and stabbed Wenceslaus in the hand. With his hand wounded, he let go of his brother and took refuge in the church. But two evil men struck him down at the church door and then another man rushed upon him and killed him with a sword. Wenceslaus saying the same words of Jesus on the Cross died saying, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”

Today, let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for all Christians who suffer from the sake of Jesus, especially those who suffer from the hands of their own relatives.