DAILY BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 28.2016

September 28, 2016

Wednesday of Week 26; St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions

FIRST READING
Job 9:1–12, 14–16

Job answered his friends and said: 

I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? 

He removes the mountains before they know it; he overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars beneath it tremble. He commands the sun, and it rises not; he seals up the stars. 

He alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea. He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south; He does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning. 

Should he come near me, I see him not; should he pass by, I am not aware of him; Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay? Who can say to him, "What are you doing?" 

How much less shall I give him any answer, or choose out arguments against him! Even though I were right, I could not answer him, but should rather beg for what was due me. If I appealed to him and he answered my call, I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 88:10bc–11, 12–13, 14–15

R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord. 

Daily I call upon you, O LORD; to you I stretch out my hands. Will you work wonders for the dead? Will the shades arise to give you thanks? 

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. 

Do they declare your mercy in the grave, your faithfulness among those who have perished? Are your wonders made known in the darkness, or your justice in the land of oblivion? 

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. 

But I, O LORD, cry out to you; with my morning prayer I wait upon you. Why, O LORD, do you reject me; why hide from me your face? 

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

ALLELUIA
Philippians 3:8–9

R. Alleluia, alleluia. 

I consider all things so much rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him. 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Luke 9:57–62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Wednesday 28 September 2016



Wednesday of week 26 in Ordinary Time

  or Saint Wenceslaus (Wacław), Martyr

  or Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs

About Today

Psalm week: 2.

St Wenceslaus (907 - 935)

He was born into the Bohemian royal family, and brought up as a Christian by his aunt. When he became king, he worked hard to promote order in his kingdom and the free exercise of Christianity. This raised considerable opposition, and he was eventually murdered by his brother’s henchmen. He was immediately acclaimed as a martyr and is the patron saint of the Czech republic.

  

Saints Lawrence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs

The followers of Christ, arriving unexpectedly in Japan, without any permission, have spread and propagated their wicked law, destroying the good and legitimate one and plotting to overthrow authority in the country. This is the beginning of great calamity, which we should avoid by all means. All these Christians should be eliminated without any delay. If anyone dares to contravene this order, he will be put to death.

  Lawrence Ruiz was born in Manila of a Chinese father and Filipino mother. He was married and had three children. He joined a Dominican missionary expedition to Japan in order to escape arrest for a crime of which he was accused. He was arrested by the Japanese authorities in Nagasaki, tortured and executed in September 1637. He is the first Filipino martyr.

  August and October 1633

  Dominic Ibañez de Erquicia was a Spanish Dominican priest. He worked secretly in Japan from 1623. He was 44 at the age of his execution.

  Francis Shoyemon was Japanese. He was a companion of Domingo Ibañez in his apostolate. He received the Dominican habit while in prison.

  James Kyushei Tomonaga of St Mary was a Japanese Dominican priest. He was born of a noble Christian family in Kyudetsu, and studied at the Jesuits’ College at Nagasaki. He was expelled from Japan in 1614 for working as a catechist. In 1632 he returned to Japan to help his fellow-Christians. He was arrested, tortured and later killed, “because he was a religious and propagated the faith”. He was 51 years old when he died.

  Michael Kuroboiye was a Japanese lay catechist, a companion of Father James of St Mary. Under torture he revealed Father James’s hiding-place. Repenting, he proclaimed his faith and joined his companion in his martyrdom.

  Lucas Alonso of the Holy Spirit was a Spanish Dominican priest. He went to Japan in 1623 and worked there, encountering great risks and hardships for ten years. He was arrested in Osaka and killed in Nagasaki after being tortured, at the age of 39.

  Matthew Kohioye of the Rosary was a Dominican novice, a catechist and helper of Lucas Alonso. He was arrested in Osaka and endured terrible tortures without apostatizing. He was 18 at the time of his death.

  September 1637

  The Dominicans in Manila organised a missionary expedition to the Christians in Japan. They arrived in Okinawa in 1636 and were arrested and held in prison for a year before being condemned to death.

  Antonio González was a Spanish Dominican priest. He died in prison after being tortured, at the age of 45.

  William Courtet, or Thomas of St Dominic, was born in France. He was a Dominican. He endured horrible tortures, singing psalms and praises to Our Lady of the Rosary. He was 47 when he was executed.

  Niguel de Aozaraza was a Spanish Dominican priest. He was executed at the age of 39 after tremendous suffering.

  Vincent Schiwozuka of the Cross was a Japanese Dominican priest. He was expelled from Japan in 1614. He became a priest in Manila and worked among the Japanese exiles. He became a Dominican before his return to Japan in 1636. He apostatized after a year of imprisonment and torture but soon returned to the faith and died a martyr.

  Lázaro of Kyoto was a Japanese layman. He contracted leprosy and was deported to the Philippines with other lepers. In 1636 he joined Antonio González as his guide and interpreter. Unable to endure the torture he apostatized for a few hours, but then repented and died for Christ together with the others.