Liturgical Calendar

Saint of the day

Saint Wenceslaus (c.907-929)

Saint Wenceslaus was born in 907 near Prague. His holy grandmother raised him and wanted to put him on the throne to replace his mother, an anti-Christian. Wenceslaus eventually took over the throne. During his reign, Saint Wenceslaus focused on unification efforts in Bohemia, and Church support and peace with Germany. His efforts to bring peace and support the Church did not sit well with anti-Christians, especially his brother, Boleslav. Boleslav invited Wenceslaus to come and celebrate the feast of Saints Cosmos and Damian with him. While on the way to Mass, Boleslav attacked Wenceslaus, and killed his brother with the help of his anti-Christian supporters. The tomb of Wenceslaus became a popular destination for pilgrims. He is the patron saint of the Bohemian people and the former Czechoslovakia.

Reflection

Saint Wenceslaus was ultimately martyred for his staunch support of Christianity and his attempts to help it grow. Saint Wenceslaus reminds us that often, when we try to do good, others will aggressively oppose us. Despite their opposition, Saint Wenceslaus teaches us that we are to persevere in the good we are doing.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, help me to have the fortitude to persist in doing good regardless of the hostility I may encounter.

Meditations

Meditation for Reading 1

Change happens. In our life we have times of joy and times of sorrow, times of letting go and times of holding on, times of moving forward and times of looking back. We cannot see the front of the tapestry we are weaving with our life. We can only see the back, which may look like tangled, unconnected threads. It is up to us to weave all the good and bad times by keeping our focus on Jesus Christ. Ultimately our faith in Christ will help us make sense of what is happening now, especially when we can't imagine what the reason may be. It may take a lifetime, though, to see that reason. (Taken from “Take Ten – Daily Bible Reflections for Teens”)