👑Saint Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century, was a ruler notable for his profound piety and zeal for the Christian faith. Educated by his grandmother, Saint Ludmila, he dedicated himself to governing with justice, promoting the construction of churches, and caring for the poor, widows, and orphans. His devotion to the Holy Eucharist was so intense that he himself cultivated the wheat and grapes for the making of the consecrated bread and wine. His exemplary life, however, aroused the envy of his pagan brother, Boleslaus, who, conspiring with other nobles, treacherously murdered him at the door of a church where the saint was going to pray. His martyrdom is a testament to the radical nature of the Gospel, which often places the faithful in opposition even to those of their own household. As Saint John Chrysostom reflects on those who suffer for justice: "Call not blessed those who enjoy power, but those who endure it with courage. Not those who are glorified by men, but those who are glorified by God."
🙏Introit (Ps 20:2-3 | ibid., 4)
In virtúte tua, Dómine, lætábitur iustus: et super salutáre tuum exsultábit veheménter... In Thy strength, O Lord, the just man shall rejoice, and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly... For Thou hast given him his heart's desire. Ps. For Thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones. ℣. Glory be to the Father...
📜Epistle (Wisdom 10:10-14)
The Lord conducted the just man [Jacob] through the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of holy things: made him honourable in his labours, and accomplished his labours. She stood by him against the frauds of them that oppressed him, and made him rich. She kept him from his enemies, and defended him from seducers, and gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome, and know that wisdom is mightier than all. She forsook not the just man when he was sold [Joseph], but delivered him from sinners: she went down with him into the pit. And in bands she left him not, till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him: and shewed them to be liars that had accused him, and gave him everlasting glory.
📖Gospel (Mt 10:34-42)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet: and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
🤔Reflections
🕊️The sword mentioned by Christ is not that of war, but of discernment, which separates the love of God from the disordered love of the world and creatures, even the closest ones. This division is the consequence of radical adherence to the truth. Saint Augustine explains that this sword is the Word of God, which cuts the earthly ties that prevent us from following Christ: "He came to separate those who would believe in Him from their unbelieving parents and, for this, brought a sword, that is, separation" (Against Faustus, Book 16). Regarding persecution from those closest, Saint Gregory the Great teaches that "often, our faith finds its greatest enemies among the members of our own house; for when flesh and blood oppose our desire to serve God, it is as if our own family rises against us" (Homilies on the Gospels, 37). And the Wisdom that leads the just, like St. Wenceslaus, through such conflicts to eternal glory is the very Cross of Christ, for, as Saint Ambrose states, "divine Wisdom did not abandon the just man either in prison or in his sale, because wherever the just man is, there is wisdom" (On Joseph, ch. 5).
✝️The Gospel of Saint Luke presents an even more incisive parallel to Christ's discourse, using the Semitic expression "to hate" to mean "to love less": "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:26). Luke also places the precept of taking up the cross (Lk 9:23) in the context of a daily following ("let him take up his cross daily"), emphasizing the constancy of the sacrifice, whereas Matthew presents it as a general condition for discipleship.
✉️Saint Paul deepens the meaning of "losing one's life to gain it" by stating that he considers everything as loss compared to the surpassing knowledge of Christ: "But the things that were gain to me, the same I have counted loss for Christ. [...] for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ" (Phil 3:7-8). The reality of persecution, including from those closest, is confirmed by the Apostle when he warns that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim 3:12), echoing Christ's prophecy about domestic enemies.
🏛️The Catechism of the Council of Trent, in explaining the fourth commandment, clarifies that the honor due to parents cannot override obedience to God, stating that "if parents command anything that is evil or contrary to the law of God, children must remember the maxim that we ought to obey God rather than men." The encyclical Mediator Dei of Pope Pius XII reinforces the idea of martyrdom as the most perfect union with the sacrifice of Christ, where the martyr, by "losing his life," offers himself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, thus fulfilling the Gospel precept in the most supreme way.
🧐See English version of the critical articles here.
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