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Read More →Saint Lawrence Ruiz
He was an ordinary husband and father who never set out to be a hero. He simply refused to say the words that would have saved his life, because those words would have denied his God. Saint Lawrence Ruiz, the first saint of the Philippines, shows that holiness is for ordinary people who love God to the end. Read today’s Catholic Daily Readings here.
Who Was Saint Lawrence Ruiz?
Saint Lawrence Ruiz was a married layman from Manila and the first canonised saint of the Philippines. He was martyred in Nagasaki, Japan, during a brutal persecution of Christians. He is honoured as a patron of the Filipino people and of families. His feast day is 28 September.
Early Life
Lawrence was born around the year 1600 in Binondo, Manila, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, both Christians. He grew up serving in the church of his parish, where he learned to read and write and worked as a clerk. He married a woman named Rosario, and they had three children. His was a quiet, faithful, ordinary family life.
Flight to Japan
Lawrence’s life changed suddenly when he was wrongly accused of a crime. To escape the danger, he boarded a ship with a group of missionary priests, not knowing where it was bound. The ship was headed for Japan, where Christianity was then being savagely persecuted. He had fled one danger and sailed straight into a far greater one.
Arrest and Martyrdom
Lawrence and his companions were soon arrested and subjected to terrible tortures meant to force them to renounce their faith. Through it all, Lawrence would not yield. When his captors demanded that he give up Christ to save his life, he answered that he was a Christian and would remain so until death, for he would gladly give his life a thousand times over for God. He died in Nagasaki in 1637.
Feast Day
His feast is celebrated on 28 September, together with his companion martyrs. He was canonised by Saint John Paul II in 1987, the first Filipino to be raised to the altars.
Patronage
Saint Lawrence Ruiz is the patron of the Philippines, of Filipinos throughout the world, of overseas workers separated from their families, and of people facing persecution for their faith.
Lessons from His Life
Lawrence was not a priest or a scholar. He was a working father who loved his family and his God. His life tells us that sanctity is within reach of ordinary people, and that faith is proved not in comfort but in the moment of testing. When everything was taken from him, he held on to the one thing that could not be taken: his love for Christ.
Prayer to Saint Lawrence Ruiz
Saint Lawrence Ruiz, faithful father and brave martyr, you would rather die a thousand times than deny your Lord. Win for me the courage to stay true to Christ in every test, and pray for all families and all who suffer for their faith. Pray for me. Amen.
Conclusion
Saint Lawrence Ruiz sailed by accident into the greatest trial of his life and met it with a courage that has inspired his nation ever since. An ordinary man made extraordinary by grace, he reminds every worker and every parent that the path to holiness runs straight through faithful, ordinary love.
Share this story with someone who needs it, and read today’s readings to pray along. 🙏❤️🙏
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