St. Wenceslaus of Bohemia - Patron of Czechoslovakia - September 28th
As a boy, this prince was brought up by his saintly grandmother, Ludmila. When his father died, his mother took over the rule of Bohemia. She was an evil woman, who tried to destroy Christianity in the land. And she was jealous of the great love and respect her oldest son had for his holy grandmother, St. Ludmila. St. Wenceslaus was urged by his grandmother to take the throne away from his mother, to save the Christian Church in Bohemia. In great anger, Wenceslaus’ mother and her wicked friends had St. Ludmila killed. But the people were disgusted with the evil woman, and they made St. Wenceslaus their ruler.
Wenceslaus was a wise, kind ruler, who loved peace. Yet he was strong and just. He had a great devotion to Holy Mass. Once, because he stopped for Mass, he was the last prince to arrive at an important meeting of the German Emperor and other rulers. They were offended at being kept waiting, and decided to show it by not speaking to him when he arrived. But no sooner had Wenceslaus stepped into the hall than they all changed their minds and showed him great love and respect instead. They could not help but admire him for his great love of God.
St. Wenceslaus knew that his brother Boleslaus was jealous of his power. He had been warned that his life was in danger. Yet he accepted Boleslaus’ invitation to a banquet and treated his brother as kindly as ever. Early the next morning, he was on his way to Mass as usual when his brother came up to him and struck him. The two brothers struggled until wicked friends of Boleslaus ran up and killed Wenceslaus. His last words as he fell were, “Brother, may God forgive you!”
At once the people of Bohemia began to go in great crowds to the young prince’s grave, for they knew he was a Saint.
St. Wenceslaus was noted for his habit of prayer. Prayer gave him the strength he needed to perform his very difficult duties towards his country and to forgive his own brother.
