For the second time this week, we are commemorating one of the Church's martyrs today. This time, our attention turns to Vietnam and the object of our attention is a Roman Catholic priest who we know as Andrew Dung-Lac. He was born Trần An Dũng in 1795, taking the name Andrew at his baptism (Anrê Dũng) and was ordained a priest on 15 March 1823. Due to prolonged persecution of Catholics, Andrew Dũng changed his name to Lạc to avoid capture, and thus he is memorialised as Andrew Dũng-Lạc (Anrê Dũng Lạc). Today we remember Andrew and all the other Vietnamese Martyrs of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries (1625–1886). Andrew was beheaded by order of Emperor Minh Mang and was canonized on June 19, 1988.
Examples of such dedication to faith have been a part of the Church's history from its earliest days. Even our shared history with the Jewish people includes the stories of such people as Judas Maccabeus (whose story is told in today's readings - 1 Mac 4:36-37, 52-59). The most memorable life of faith was of course lived by Jesus himself. In today's gospel passage, he is in the Temple in Jerusalem reminding those he encountered there (and us as well) that his house will be a house of prayer (Lk 19:46).
Even today, Jesus' disciples need to remember always to keep a special place in our hearts for prayer. Sometimes that means having a place in our homes that is dedicated to prayer, other times, it means that we have a regular routine of stopping everything else in order to spend time listening for God's guidance in our lives. However often we can find time for Jesus, he will always find time for us.
Have a great weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment