Liturgy & Music

Memorial of St. Martha (404; Gospel 607) white Ex 40:16–21, 34–38 • Ps 84:3, 4, 5–6a and 8a, 11 • Jn 11:19–27 or Lk 10:38–42 St. Martha is remembered as the bustling woman chided by Christ for “burdened with much serving,” while her more contemplative sister “has chosen the better part.” But the Gospel accounts also record Martha’s remarkable profession of faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of God,” placing her in the company of Peter as the only followers of Jesus to recognize his divinity before the Resurrection.

Weekday (405) green Lv 23:1, 4–11, 15–16, 27, 34b–37 • Ps 81:3–4, 5–6, 10–11ab • Mt 13:54–58 Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church / white St. Peter Chrysologus was a fourth-century bishop whose preaching earned him the sobriquet “The Golden-Worded.” His celebrated homilies explained doctrines like the Trinity eloquently, clearly, and concisely.

Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (406) white Lv 25:1, 8–17 • Ps 67:2–3, 5, 7–8 • Mt 14:1–12 St. Ignatius of Loyola changed the world as the founder of the Jesuits, and his Spiritual Exercises have become a model of Christian discernment and discipline. When his military career was cut abruptly short by injury, St. Ignatius found new purpose in following the example of Christ and the saints with the same vigor that would become characteristic of the order he founded.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (113) green Ex 16:2–4, 12–15 • Ps 78:3–4, 23–24, 25, 54 • Eph 4:17, 20–24 • Jn 6:24–35 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week II

Weekday (407) green Nm 11:4b–15 • Ps 81:12–13, 14–15, 16–17 • Mt 14:13–21 Bienaventurada Virgen María de los Ángeles (Costa Rica) Optional Memorials of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop / white; St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest / white St. Eusebius (+ 371) was born in Sardinia. He was made the first bishop of Vercelli, probably in the 340s, and formed his clergy into a monastic community. St. Peter Julian Eymard worked tirelessly to encourage frequent reception of Holy Communion and has been called the “apostle of the Eucharist.” He was a friend of his contemporaries St. Peter Chanel and St. John Vianney, and advised the sculptor Auguste Rodin not to give up art to become a lay brother in his Congregation.

Weekday (408) green Nm 12:1–13 • Ps 51:3–4, 5–6ab, 6cd–7, 12–13 • Mt 14:22–36 or Mt 15:1–2, 10–14

Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest (409) white Nm 13:1–2, 25—14:1, 26–29a, 34–35 • Ps 106:6–7ab, 13–14, 21–22, 23 • Mt 15:21–28 St. John Mary Vianney (1786–1859), patron of parish priests, was ordained because of his virtue. He was assigned to Ars, France, because the parish needed the love he could bring.

Weekday (410) green Nm 20:1–13 • Ps 95:1–2, 6–7, 8–9 • Mt 16:13–23 Bienaventurada Virgen María de Copacabana (Bolivia)Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basiliica of St. Mary Major / white The memorial commemorates Pope Sixtus III’s dedication of a church to the Blessed Virgin Mary following the First Council of Ephesus, in which Mary was declared the Theotokos. It is the largest and oldest church dedicated to Mary found in Rome.

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (614) white Dn 7:9–10, 13–14 • Ps 97:1–2, 5–6, 9 • 2 Pt 1:16–19 • Mk 9:2–10 Gloria and the Creed Proper Psalter El Salvador del Mundo (El Salvador) The Transfiguration of the Lord refers to a mysterious event during which Jesus is transfigured, or changed, in the presence of three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John. Moses and Elijah, two Old Testament figures representing the Law and the Prophets, appear and converse with Jesus. The event highlights Jesus’ divinity and glory that was hidden from the world but is now revealed to his closest disciples. Jesus is the fulfillment and completion of the Old Testament promises. This brief glimpse into Jesus’ hidden power, divinity, and glory would be fully revealed in the Resurrection once the journey of suffering and death had been accomplished.

Weekday (412) green Dt 6:4–13 • Ps 18:2–3a 3bc–4, 47 and 51 • Mt 17:14–20 Optional Memorials of St. Sixtus II, Pope, and Companions, Martyrs / red; St. Cajetan, Priest / white; Blessed Virgin Mary / white During his short tenure as pope, St. Sixtus II managed to restore the strained relationship between the Western and Eastern Churches. He was martyred by Emperor Valerian alongside several deacons. St. Cajetan founded the Theatines, the Order of the Clerks Regular, to promote reception of the sacraments, do works of charity, and recall clergy to their vocations. St. Cajetan was an idealist who sought to demonstrate by example the power of virtue in a time when many in the Church were morally compromised.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (116) green 1 Kgs 19:4–8 • Ps 34:2–3, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9 • Eph 4:30—5:2 • Jn 6:41–51 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week III

Weekday (413) green Dt 10:12–22 • Ps 147:12–13, 14–15, 19–20 • Mt 17:22–27 Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr / red St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was born Edith Stein at Breslau in 1891 into an observant Jewish family, but by the time she reached her teens, she had become an atheist. She studied philosophy and received her doctorate at Freiburg under the philosopher Edmund Husserl but left her university career to teach at a girls’ school when Husserl did not support her further studies. Influenced by her study of scholastic theology and spirituality, she became a Catholic in 1922. In 1932, she became a lecturer at Munster, but anti-Semitic laws passed by the Nazis forced her to resign, and she entered the Carmel at Cologne in 1933. In an attempt to protect her from the Nazis, she was transferred to a Carmel in the Netherlands, but when the Dutch bishops condemned Nazi racism, the Nazis retaliated by arresting Jewish converts. Edith, along with her sister Rosa, who had also become a Catholic, was deported to Auschwitz and died in the gas chamber on August 9, 1942.

Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (618) red 2 Cor 9:6–10 • Ps 112:1–2, 5–6, 7–8, 9 • Jn 12:24–26 Gloria Proper Psalter St. Lawrence (+258) was a deacon. Arrested during a time of persecution, Lawrence sold the community’s possessions to care for the poor and left nothing for his captors. Enraged, they roasted his body over an open fire, forcing the poor to watch. Legend holds that Lawrence cried out: “I’m done on this side. Turn me over.”

Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (415) white Dt 34:1–12 • Ps 66:1–3a, 5 and 8, 16–17 • Mt 18:15–20 St. Clare (1194–1253) was a friend and follower of St. Francis of Assisi. She was from a wealthy family and sold all she had to serve the poor Christ. Many women came to join Clare’s Poor Ladies. Clare served her sisters, like Christ, the Servant King.

Weekday (416) green Jos 3:7–10a, 11, 13–17 • Ps 114:1–2, 3–4, 5–6 • Mt 18:21—19:1 Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious / white St. Jane Frances de Chantal was still a young woman when her husband died in a hunting accident, leaving her with six young children and little comfort outside her devotion to Christ and the Church. Jane founded the Order of the Visitation as a religious community with a moderate rule accessible to widowed, old, and ill candidates.

Weekday (417) green Jos 24:1–13 • Ps 136:1–3, 16–18, 21–22 and 24 • Mt 19:3–12 Optional Memorial of Sts. Pontiun, Pope, and Hippolytys, Priest, Martyrs / red Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus were at odds during life but were reconciled at the end of life. St. Hippolytus was one of the most important theologians of the early Roman Church but allowed himself to be set up as antipope due to his impatience with what he saw as “laxness” in the Church. St. Pontian was the last of the three popes opposed by Hippolytus, but the two were both exiled by Emperor Maximinus and met martyrdom together, united in the end by their fidelity to Christ.

Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (418) red Jos 24:14–29 • Ps 16:1–2a and 5, 7–8, 11 • Mt 19:13–15St. Maximilian, a priest, preached the love of Christ during his life and demonstrated it in death, offering himself as substitute to save the life of a young father chosen at random for starvation by their Nazi captors.

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (621 and 622) white Vigil: 1 Chr 15:3–4, 15–16; 16:1–2 • Ps 132:6–7, 9–10, 13–14 • 1 Cor 15:54b–57 • Lk 11:27–28 Day: Rv 11:19a; 12:1–6a, 10ab • Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16 • 1 Cor 15:20–27 • Lk 1:39–56 Gloria and the Creed Proper Psalter Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María (Paraguay) For her courageous discipleship, God blessed Mary during her difficult life, and at her death, God assumed her bodily into heaven, where she now enjoys full union with her Lord. Mary, as one of us, points to what awaits the Church and all disciples who wait in hope for full union with God. While not in Scripture, Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven is an ancient Church belief. The solemnity not only celebrates Mary’s assumption, but, as she is the primary symbol of the Church, Mary’s assumption points to the fullness of salvation that will be given to the entire Church with the Lord’s Second Coming.

Weekday (419) green Jgs 2:11–19 • Ps 106:34–35, 36–37, 39–40, 43ab and 44 • Mt 19:16–22 Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Proper Psalter Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary / white St. Stephen (+ 1038) is thought of as the founder of the kingdom of Hungary, was its first king, and established Christianity there.

Weekday (420) green Jgs 6:11–24a • Ps 85:9, 11–12, 13–14 • Mt 19:23–30

Weekday (421) green Jgs 9:6–15 • Ps 21:2–3, 4–5, 6–7 • Mt 20:1–16

Weekday (422) green Jgs 11:29–39a • Ps 40:5, 7–8a, 8b–9, 10 • Mt 22:1–14 Optional Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest / white St. John Eudes left the Oratorians to found an order, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, for the renewal of the diocesan priesthood dedicated to founding seminaries and educating seminarians and priests. In turbulent times, St. John always set his hand to whatever work needed to be done, whether it was nursing plague victims or educating and forming better priests and pastors.

Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (423) white Ru 1:1, 3–6, 14b–16, 22 • Ps 146:5–6ab, 6c–7, 8–9a, 9bc–10 • Mt 22:34–40St. Bernard was a nobleman who joined the abbey at Cîteaux, France. Many of his family members and friends joined him. Bernard wanted to follow and lead others to Christ, rather than to himself. He used his gifts for leadership, arbitration, writing, and creating harmony in the abbey to give glory to God.

Memorial of St. Pius X, Pope (424) Ru 2:1–3, 8–11; 4:13–17 • Ps 128:1b–2, 3, 4, 5 • Mt 23:1–12 As pope at the turn of the last century, St. Pius X reformed the liturgy and breviary, promoted Gregorian chant, opposed Modernism, and lowered the age of First Communion from twelve to seven. Although he rose to keep lofty company as pope, St. Pius had humble origins and never lost his love for simple, accessible liturgy and expressions of doctrine.

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (122) green Jos 24:1–2a, 15–17, 18b • Ps 34:2–3, 16–17, 18–19, 20–21 • Eph 5:21–32 or 5:2a, 25–32 • Jn 6:60–69 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week I

Weekday (425) green 1 Thes 1:1–5, 8b–10 • Ps 149:1b–2, 3–4, 5–6a and 9b • Mt 23:13–22 Optional Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin / whiteDuring St. Rose of Lima’s (1586–1617) brief life, people noticed her physical beauty, but the beauty of her soul far surpassed her physical appearance. Rose longed to live solely for God by claiming Christ as her spouse. Basing her life on St. Catherine of Siena, she lived a penitential life, setting up an infirmary in the family home to care for impoverished children and the sick.

Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (629) red Rv 21:9b–14 • Ps 145:10–11, 12–13, 17–18 • Jn 1:45–51 Gloria Proper PsalterSt. Bartholomew was one of the Apostles, usually mentioned in the company of Saint Philip. Little is known about Bartholomew, but legend holds that he brought the Gospel to India and was martyred in Armenia.

Weekday (427) green 1 Thes 2:9–13 • Ps 139:7–8, 9–10, 11–12ab • Mt 23:27–32 Optional Memorials of St. Louis / white; St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest / white King Louis I of France dedicated his lengthy reign to the promotion of peace and justice in his domain, arbitrating cases between his subjects, feeding and housing the poor, and negotiating peace settlements with England. St. Joseph Calasanz founded the Clerks Regular of the Pious School to educate the poor and improve their lives. With St. Camillus de Lellis, St. Joseph cared for plague victims, serving Christ in his “distressing disguise” wherever he saw need.

Weekday (428) green 1 Thes 3:7–13 • Ps 90:3–5a, 12–13, 14 and 17 • Mt 24:42–51

Memorial of St. Monica (429) white 1 Thes 4:1–8 • Ps 97:1 and 2b, 5–6, 10, 11–12 • Mt 25:1–13St. Monica was married to unfaithful and unbelieving Patricius. Monica’s son, St. Augustine, was a handful. She tried to change him to no avail. Finally, she submitted to prayer after being advised it was her only help. Augustine was baptized at age twenty-eight, and the rest is history.

Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (430) white 1 Thes 4:9–11 • Ps 98:1, 7–8, 9 • Mt 25:14–30 St. Augustine had a formative influence on the early Church as bishop and was the author of works of apologetics and theology exploring the role of the Christian in the world and refuting popular errors. His Confessions gives an account of his attachment to sin, his restless spirit as a young man, and his path to the spiritual conversion that lit the fire of his love for God.

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (125) green Dt 4:1–2, 6–8 • Ps 15:2–3, 3–4, 4–5 • Jas 1:17–18, 21b–22, 27 • Mk 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week II

Weekday (431) green 1 Thes 4:13–18 • Ps 96:1 and 3, 4–5, 11–12, 13 • Lk 4:16–30

Weekday (432) green 1 Thes 5:1–6, 9–11 • Ps 27:1, 4, 13–14 • Lk 4:31–37

Weekday (433) green Col 1:1–8 • Ps 52:10, 11 • Lk 4:38–44

Weekday (434) green Col 1:9–14 • Ps 98:2–3ab, 3cd–4, 5–6 • Lk 5:1–11 (434)

Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (435) white Col 1:15–20 • Ps 100:1b–2, 3, 4, 5 • Lk 5:33–39St. Gregory the Great was responsible for promoting monasticism, patronizing the development of Gregorian chant, commissioning evangelists to Britain, and writing many theological and catechetical works. Pope Gregory led Rome and the Church through plagues, invasions, and political confusion, placing his talents for organization and leadership in the service of both political peace and the spread of Christianity.

Weekday (436) green Col 1:21–23 • Ps 54:3–4, 6 and 8 • Lk 6:1–5 Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary / white

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (128) green Is 35:4–7a • Ps 146:7, 8–9, 9–10 • Jas 2:1–5 • Mk 7:31–37 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week III

Weekday (437) green Col 1:24—2:3 • Ps 62:6–7, 9 • Lk 6:6–11

Weekday (438) green Col 2:6–15 • Ps 145:1b–2, 8–9, 10–11 • Lk 6:12–19

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (636) white Mi 5:1–4a or Rom 8:28–30 • Ps 13:6ab, 6c • Mt 1:1–16, 18–23 or 1:18–23 Gloria Proper Psalter Bienaventurada Virgen María de la Caridad del Cobre (Cuba)Only the births of Christ, Mary, and John the Baptist are celebrated in our liturgical calendar. All three are integral to the mystery of the Incarnation. Most of what we know about the early life of Mary is found in the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal gospel from the second century, a source that does not bear the authority of canonical Scripture. Indeed, Mary’s birth was the first of many holy events for this daughter of Israel through whom God chose to carry out the plan of salvation.

Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (440) white Col 3:12–17 • Ps 150:1b–2, 3–4, 5–6 • Lk 6:27–38 Santa María la Antigua (Panamá)Peter Claver (1580–1654), a Spanish Jesuit priest, spent his life tending to the needs of African slaves in Columbia, South America. While serving as a missionary, he ministered to the slaves by providing them with food and medicine, washing their wounds, preparing them for Baptism, and witnessing their marriages. He actively recruited lawyers to plead the cases of imprisoned slaves and prepared criminals for death. He not only cared for the slaves but also preached missions to plantation owners and sailors. The “saint of the slaves,” as St. Peter is often called, died after contracting the plague.

Weekday (441) green 1 Tm 1:1–2, 12–14 • Ps 16:1b–2a and 5, 7–8, 11 • Lk 6:39–42

Weekday (442) green 1 Tm 1:15–17 • Ps 113:1b–2, 3–4, 5a and 6–7 • Lk 6:43–49 Bienaventurada Virgen María de Coromoto (Venezuela) Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary / white

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (131) green Is 50:4c–9a • Ps 116:1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 8–9 • Jas 2:14–18 • Mk 8:27–35 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week IV

Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (443) white 1 Tm 2:1–8 • Ps 28:2, 7, 8–9 • Lk 7:1–10 After a short stint as a monk, Saint John Chrysostom (c. 350–407), whose surname means “golden mouth,” returned to Antioch, where he was ordained a priest and became a noted preacher. During his free time he wrote commentaries on the Pauline letters as well as the Gospels according to Matthew and John. Due to his reputation for preaching and writing, he was appointed bishop of Constantinople. As bishop, he initiated a program of reform that challenged clerical abuses and the extravagant lifestyle of the upper class. His reforms were not always received well, especially on the part of Empress Eudoxia; therefore, he was exiled from the city for a period of time.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (638) white Nm 21:4b–9 • Ps 78:1bc–2, 34–35, 36–37, 38 • Phil 2:6–11 • Jn 3:13–17 Gloria Proper Psalter This feast commemorates the finding of the Cross of Jesus by St. Helena, mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine. The cross is no longer a sign of torture but of triumph. It leads our processions and stands near the altar of Christ’s sacrifice. A symbol of death overcame death because of the perfect obedience of Jesus, who freely accepted it. Jesus reigns from the cross. We should reflect frequently on what the cross represents, as expressed in today’s reading from Philippians.

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (445; Gospel 639) white 1 Tm 3:14–16 • Ps 111:1–2, 3–4, 5–6 • Stabat Mater • Jn 19:25–27 or Lk 2:33–35 Proper Psalter The scene of a mother watching her only son dying is beyond imagination. All the accounts of the Gospel bear witness to Mary, the mother of Jesus, being present at his crucifixion. One can speculate that knowing his mother’s presence intensified the suffering of Jesus. He would know that a widow would be vulnerable without a male to look over her. Beyond this practical concern, the Gospel according to John suggests the birth of a new spiritual family under the cross, represented by two exemplary disciples: Mary and the Beloved Disciple.

Memorial of Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs (446) red 1 Tm 4:12–16 • Ps 111:7–8, 9, 10 • Lk 7:36–50 Pope Cornelius and Bishop Cyprian disagreed on how to treat Christians who had apostatized under persecution, with Cyprian favoring re-Baptism and the pope declaring that only a period of penance should be required. The two saints are, however, remembered together as martyrs who themselves accepted death rather than renounce their shared faith.

Weekday (447) green 1 Tm 6:2c–12 • Ps 49:6–7, 8–10, 17–18, 19–20 • Lk 8:1–3 Optional Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church / white St. Robert Bellarmine was a Jesuit scholar and rigorous academic theologian who defended and clarified Church teaching during the Reformation as an adviser to two popes, and he was a prolific writer. Bellarmine’s many gifts lifted him to reluctant prominence without making him prideful, and he continued to serve others through both his own works of charity and his generous sponsorship of other reformers.

Weekday (448) green 1 Tm 6:13–16 • Ps 100:1b–2, 3, 4, 5 • Lk 8:4–15 Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary / white

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (134) green Wis 2:12, 17–20 • Ps 54:3–4, 5, 6–8 • Jas 3:16—4:3 • Mk 9:30–37 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week I Catechetical Sunday

Memorial of Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gǒn, Priest, and Paul Chǒng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs (449) red Ezr 1:1–6 • Ps 126:1b–2ab, 2cd–3, 4–5, 6 • Lk 8:16–18 From age to age, various means helped plant the Gospel. Interestingly, Christianity did not reach Korea through foreign missionaries. Rather, a Korean diplomat in China returned to Korea with books written by the Italian Jesuit missionary to China, Matteo Ricci. The seed was planted in this way among the laity. Later, St. Andrew Kim became the first Korean priest. He and countless others were executed for the faith, confirming Tertullian’s adage “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (643) red Eph 4:1–7, 11–13 • Ps 19:2–3, 4–5 • Mt 9:9–13 Gloria Proper Psalter St. Matthew was a tax collector when Christ called him to leave his former ways to follow him. The Gospel accounts tell us that Matthew invited Jesus to his home to dine with tax collectors and prostitutes, bringing Christ to others who on the margins of society.

Weekday (451) green Ezr 9:5–9 • Tbt 13:2, 3–4a, 4befghn, 7–8 • Lk 9:1–6

Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest (452) white Hg 1:1–8 • Ps 149:1b–2, 3–4, 5–6a and 9b • Lk 9:7–9 Padre Pio was a popular modern saint who bore the stigmata, visible replicas of the wounds of Christ on his body, which caused him much embarrassment and suffering throughout his life. Nonetheless, the saint spent hours every day hearing confessions for the many thousands who flocked to him to receive counsel and God’s mercy.

Weekday (453) green Hg 2:1–9 • Ps 43:1, 2, 3, 4 • Lk 9:18–22

Weekday (454) green Zec 2:5–9, 14–15a • Jer 31:10, 11–12ab, 13 • Lk 9:43b–45 Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary / white

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (137) green Nm 11:25–29 • Ps 19:8, 10, 12–13, 14 • Jas 5:1–6 • Mk 9:38–43, 45, 47–48 Gloria and the Creed Psalter Week II Priesthood Sunday

Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (455) white Zec 8:1–8 • Ps 102:16–18, 19–21, 29 and 22–23 • Lk 9:46–50 St. Vincent de Paul (1581–1660), a French priest, gradually became aware of the growing disparity between the rich and poor; in response, he laid the framework for a confraternity of caring, called the Servants of the Poor, which provided for the physical needs of the poor. Recognizing the call to care for not only their physical needs but also their spiritual needs, he established a society of priests, the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), dedicated to preaching to peasants, catechesis of the marginalized, and other charitable works. In collaboration with St. Louise Montfort de Marillac, he founded the Daughters of Charity, a new community of sisters not bound by traditional vows or enclosure, devoted to the sick, orphaned, and imprisoned.

Weekday (456) green Zec 8:20–23 / Ps 87:1b–3, 4–5, 6–7 / Lk 9:51–56 Optional Memorials of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr / red; St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs / red St. Wenceslaus was a Christian king in Bohemia known for his opposition to capital punishment and his works of charity, until his brothers and other nobles conspired to kill him for his attempts to rule by Christian principles. Demonstrating the same mercy in death that he prized in life, Wenceslaus was heard to pray for God’s forgiveness for his brother before he died. St. Lawrence Ruiz’s peaceful family life in Manila was shattered by a false accusation that drove him to flee with a Dominican mission to seek refuge in Japan. A new imperial edict against Christianity awaited them in Japan, and St. Lawrence Ruiz was martyred in Japan alongside fifteen others who refused to dishonor Christian images and disavow their faith.