The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory. --Psalm 102:17
Mass readings: Zechariah 8:1-8 / Luke 9:46-50
Two saints, 700 years apart, are celebrated for giving their lives for Christ on this date. Wenceslaus was born in Bohemia, the son of a Christian duke and his pagan wife. In 935, soon after he took the throne, a faction led by his pagan brother murdered young Wenceslaus on his way to church. Christian Bohemia never forgot their ''Good King Wenceslaus.''
St. Lawrence Ruiz was a committed Filipino Catholic, calligrapher and family man. In 1637, he fled Manila after being falsely accused of murder. Tragically, he boarded a ship bound for Japan where Christians were persecuted. Lawrence and his companions were arrested, cruelly tortured and slowly crushed to death. St. Lawrence is the first canonized Filipino martyr. St. Wenceslaus is the patron saint of Czechoslovakia.
Prayer: Sts. Wenceslaus and Lawrence, strengthen the faith and voice of today's followers of Jesus.