From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Daily Progress toward God   
      
      "As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our   
   pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and   
   it demands good students, not ones who play truant.   
       In this school we learn something every day. We learn something   
   from commandments, something from examples, and something from   
   Sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for   
   our studies."   
   --St. Augustine--Sermon 16A, 1   
      
   Prayer: Lord, you help those who turn to you. You redeem us so that we   
   may come to you.   
   --St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 17, 15   
      
   ============   
   January 28th - Saint Jerome Lu and Blessed Lawrence Wang   
      
   Memorials   
   28 January   
   28 September as one of the Martyrs of China   
      
   January 28 marks the feast day of two modern-day martyrs, who gave   
   their lives in China: Saint Jerome Lu (1810-1858) and Blessed Lawrence   
   Wang(1811-1858). These two courageous men, along with approximately   
   120 others (87 Chinese laypersons and 33 missionaries) were martyred   
   between 1648 and 1930, many dying during the bloody and violent Boxer   
   Rebellion in 1900. The “new” Martyrs of China were canonized by Pope   
   John Paul II in October 2000.   
      
   The earliest martyrs of China are recognized in the early 17th   
   century, although Christianity in China is recorded as early as the   
   Tang Dynasty (in the 600s). In the 1600s, however, the Emperor became   
   bothered by the frequent requests of his people for baptism and   
   participation in organized religious rites. Christians were being   
   persecuted in neighboring Japan at the time, and this is also thought   
   to have influenced the first wave of anti-Christian sentiment which   
   resulted.   
      
   In 1648, the first martyr of China is recorded. Blessed Francis   
   Fernandez de Capillas, a Franciscan brother and teacher, was beheaded   
   while praying the Holy Rosary and meditating on the Sorrowful   
   Mysteries. Subsequent to his death, persecution increased across the   
   continent, growing in frequency and intensity. Official decrees   
   followed in 1805, 1811, and 1813, ordering persecution against those   
   who were seeking ordination, studying Holy Scripture, and practicing   
   as servants of the Church. Those who voluntarily renounced their faith   
   were saved from harsh punishment. During this time, Saint Jerome Lu   
   and Blessed Lawrence Wang were martyred.   
      
   Saint Jerome Lu was born in Mao-Cheu, China where he joined the church   
   at an early age, working as a catechist and teaching the Holy   
   Scriptures to his neighbors. Upon discovery in 1858, he was beheaded   
   in his hometown at Maokou. Blessed Lawrence Wang has a similar story.   
   Born in Kuy-yang, he also served as a catechist in Maokou, and was   
   beheaded with Saint Jerome in 1858. Along with Saint Jerome and   
   Blessed Lawrence, a third catechist was beheaded, Blessed Angela Lin   
   Zao, after failing to renounce Christianity and the Rites of the   
   Catholic Church. They were ordered to be tortured and executed by the   
   Mandarin of Maokou, and likely died (like their predecessors), praying   
   the Holy Rosary together.   
      
   Active persecution of Chinese Christians ceased in 1846, during a 50   
   year period of tenuous peace with foreign traders and pressure from   
   the outside world. However, during the bloody Boxer Rebellion in 1900,   
   newer and harsher edicts were proclaimed against Christians, resulting   
   in the deaths of 86 recognized Catholic martyrs during that year   
   alone. It is estimated that thousands of Christians gave their lives   
   during this uprising for their faith.   
      
   Harsh persecution of Christians ceased in 1930, although with the rise   
   of communism in China, few personal liberties to practice Christian   
   faith were permitted. Rather than death, imprisonment became a common   
   punishment for those who failed to renounce their faith. In recent   
   decades, this has improved, with organized (state-monitored) religious   
   gatherings allowed.   
      
   The road for Christians in China, and many other countries, has been   
   long, difficult, and oftentimes dangerous. These courageous men and   
   women of faith have clung tightly to the Gospel, finding their peace   
   in Christ in the most difficult of times, and never losing site of the   
   promise of redemption and personal resurrection. These “new” martyrs   
   of China endured dangers and persecution, declaring their belief in   
   Christ, and their extravagant love for the Lord. As Saint Thomas   
   Aquinas (whose feast we also celebrate today) tells us, “The things   
   that we love tell us what we are.” This begs the questions: What are   
   we? What do we love? and How do we show that love to the world?   
   by Jacob   
      
      
   Saint Quotes:   
   "The true lover everywhere loves his Beloved, and continually remembers Him"   
      
   "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy   
   whole soul, and with thy whole strength. And these words which I   
   command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: ... and thou shalt   
   meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey,   
   sleeping and rising.   
   --St. Teresa of Avila (Foundress, 1515-82) - "Book of the Foundations”   
      
   Bible Quotes:   
   "And all the days [every possible moment] of thy life have God in thy   
   mind"  (Tobias  4:6)   
      
   "And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand, and they shall be and   
   shall move between thy eyes. And thou shalt write them in the entry,   
   and on the doors of thy house."  (Deut 6:5-9)   
      
      
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   Prayer of the graces   
      
   Mary, Mother of the Eucharist,   
   precious gem of God,   
   shining pearl of the sky and the earth,   
   co-redemptrix of mankind,   
   Mother of us all,   
   look at your poor and humble creatures,   
   help us to understand the love   
   of Jesus the Eucharist.   
   Gain for us the graces   
   that each one needs,   
   provided that they are in accordance with God's will.   
   Mary, Mother of the Eucharist,   
   Mother of Jesus and our Mother,   
   we, even if imperfect,   
   count on your help.   
   Thank you Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.   
      
    (At the end say three Hail Mary with the ejaculatory prayer: Mother of the   
   Eucharist, pray with us)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)