Today we celebrate the feast of Good King Wenceslaus. He was the son of a Christian Duke of Bohemia,
and a pagan mother who was a harsh cruel woman. His holy grandmother saw the danger to the
life of this future king, so she asked permission to raise the child. So Wenceslaus was educated in the true faith
and through the example of his grandmother developed a very strong devotion to
the Blessed Sacrament.
When his father died, Wenceslaus was still a minor, so his
mother assumed the government, and she passed a series of anti-Christian laws,
persecuting Christianity. In the
interest of the faith, and at the encouragement of his grandmother, Wenceslaus
claimed and obtained the support of a large portion of his countrymen. Even
though he was still a minor, he ruled as King of Bohemia. His mother allied herself with another son,
Boteslaus, a Pagan, and plotted to one day kill Wenceslaus, and out of spite
and hatred for the faith, the grandmother was assassinated, martyred while she
was praying in thanksgiving after receiving Holy Communion.
Once, when his kingdom was attacked, there was a prince from
the invading army, who was charging toward Wenceslaus with a lance to kill
him. And the prince saw the king make
the sign of the cross, and two celestial spirits appeared at the king’s side.
The prince heard a voice saying, “do not strike him”. So astonished was the prince, that he got off
of his horse and knelt at the feet of King Wenceslaus and asked his pardon
establishing peace between the two kingdoms.
King Wenceslaus attended Mass every day. He crushed the
wheat and crushed the grapes for the bread and wine used at Mass. He also provided food for the poor, bringing
them provisions by night so they would be spared any public shame because of
their poverty.
On the feasts of the dedication of the churches in various
cities, the king would visit those cities.
One Sunday, he entered the city on the Feast of Saints Cosmas and
Damian, which was controlled by his brother Boteslaus. And after hearing Mass, Boteslaus struck
Wenceslaus with a sword, while two of his counselors stabbed Wenceslaus to
death, murdering him at the entrance to the church.
Wenceslaus lived his faith in a time of political
upheaval. He sought to unify his
countrymen under the banner of the Christian faith. And even though he knew
that some conspired against him, that did not keep him from deep faith: devout
recourse to the Eucharist and fervent compassion toward the poor.
The powers and principalities plot and conspire against each
of us. And our greatest defense ought to
be the same as the Saintly King we honor today: submission to the providence of
God, friendship with God’s holy angels, deep Eucharistic faith, fervent charity
towards those in need, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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